Students to participate in Cullman Area Job Shadowing Event
HANCEVILLE, ALA. – What would your life look like now if you could have “test-driven” a job? Would you have taken another path? That’s exactly what the Career Coaches at Wallace State want high school students at 10 schools in their service area to experience.
Students at Fairview High School, for example, have spent one day a week for the past four months with their Career Coach, Lisa Farnsworth, assessing their interests and skills, exploring career paths, researching education and training options in preparation for their future. Farnsworth and Fairview counselor, Tony Gamble, want students to have a chance to see a “day-in-the-life” of a nurse, or a welder, or an aerospace engineer.
Wallace State Career Coaches have coordinated a 10-school job shadowing event for high school seniors, partnering with more than 70 local businesses to host these students for a day in their field of interest.
“Whether it be direct entry into the workforce, community college, technical training or university, we want students to see what a day-in-the life might look like before they commit to that career path,” said Christine Wiggins, Wallace State career coach coordinator. “We hope this exposure will help students make informed career and educational decisions as they embark on their journey after high school. It’s a huge undertaking, but we are very proud to be able to coordinate this opportunity for the more than 600 students who have taken the necessary steps to participate.”
The job shadowing event will take place over a six-day span with an average of 100 students out in the workforce each day observing the day-to-day routines of employees who currently work in the positions the students are interested in. After Wallace State piloted the event on a smaller scale last year with 300 students, four schools and 25 partners, it became apparent that this was something that had to be expanded and offered on a grander scale.
This year’s event will be held daily January 26-30 and February 2.
This partnership between local employers and potential future employees is just one of the ways Wallace State works to benefit the economic development of this area.
Participating businesses this year include: The Cullman Times, Cullman Fire and Rescue, Merchants Bank, Mitch Smith Chevrolet, Cullman Funeral Home, Boozer Eyecare Associates, Cullman Regional Medical Center, the Mayor’s Office (Cullman Mayor Max Townson), Cullman City Police Department, Cullman County Police Department, WKUL 92.1 FM Radio, WCQT TV – Cullman, Dr. Little, Rehau, Cracker Barrel, Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Matt Dellinger, Wallace State Baseball, Valley Heating and Air, Serra Visser Nissan, Dodge – Chrysler-Jeep-Ram, Eckenrod Ford, Dr. Moss, Cullman Cosmetic Denistry, J Drake Salon, Cullman Animal Hospital, Blount County Animal Hospital, Derek Lane – Chamber, Smith Squared Photography, Ty Parker, West Point Elementary, West Point Intermediate, Early Years Preschool, Gibbs Garden Center, The Link, Compton Vet, Cullman Animal Shelter, Birmingham Zoo, Apel Steele, Mach III, Redstone Arsenal, Baker Productions, Bella Faire, CCCDD, Cullman Electric Coop, Cullman Parks and Recreation, Tyson, Cullman County Courthouse – Accounting, Evac, Vinemont Airport, Sports First Massage Clinic, Cullman County Museum, Cullman Dance Academy, Desperation Church, Doug Doggett, ERA Waldrop Real Estate, John Richter – Ministry, Cullman County Courthouse – Electrical Maintenance, Gibbs Garden Center, Soil and Water Conservation Dept., WBRC – Fox 6, 95.1 The Rocket, Dr. Terry James, Alabama Farm Credit, the Birmingham Barons, Wallace State President Dr. Vicki Karolewics, Water Treatment Plant and Trinity Homes.
For more information about the event, or about the services provided by Wallace State’s career coaches, contact Wiggins at 256.352.8462 or christine.wiggins@wallacestate.edu.
For more information about Wallace State, visit wallacestate.edu.
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Christine Wiggins
Wallace State Community College
PAVES Project Coordinator
Career, Success and Graduation Coach Coordinator
1109 Bailey Building
P.O. Box 2000
Hanceville, AL 35077-2000
256-352-8462 (ph)
256-352-8392 (f)
christine.wiggins@wallacestate.edu
Kristen Holmes
Communications & Marketing Director
Wallace State Community College
801 Main Street NW | Hanceville, AL 35077
E-mail: kristen.holmes@wallacestate.edu
Office: 256.352.8118 (ph)
Cell: 256.339.2519 (c)
Be One of Us. Visit us online at www.wallacestate.edu
Russell Moore
Staff Writer
Wallace State Community College
P.O. Box 2000, Hanceville, AL 35077
1-866-350-9722 256-352-8443 direct
Russell.Moore@wallacestate.edu
Visit us online at www.wallacestate.edu