A-Tech students visit Lakeshore Primary

CONNEAUT – The students at A-Tech are used to talking about their education with fellow teenagers and their parents because it’s simply become part of their regular day.
There is one group of people the A-Tech students can’t wait to discuss their career paths with, however.
Career Day at Lakeshore Primary, most recently held on Friday, May 1, has become a favorite for the A-Tech students.
“They really do enjoy the day,” A-Tech Career Education Coordinator Denise Miller said. “The juniors, they don’t know what they’re getting themselves into. We have visitors at A-Tech all the time, so our students are used to interacting with the community, the public and with other students, but never at this age level, so when you’re talking about bringing it down to a kindergarten, first- and second-grade class, for some of them, it’s a little shocking. Then, they participate, and what happens is they are knocking on my door checking in with me in May, and then again, in September, the next year asking about the field trip to Conneaut.”
“They get to return as seniors and it makes it special,” Miller continued. “They build memories. We just witnessed a class walking by with birdhouses and the smiles on the faces of the students. For the high school students to experience that and see pure joy is a great experience. (The primary) kids are interested. They’re asking questions they don’t always get from eighth-graders and 10th-graders. The younger students, they’re impressionable. They’re excited, and they’re engaged.”
More than 40 A-Tech students in nearly a dozen programs spent time not only talking to the Lakeshore students, but also demonstrating how some of their tools work as well as assisting the students in using them.
“I believe that there’s nothing better than a hands-on exploration, a day where you can actually explore with your hands, to really learn something,” Miller said. “This experience itself, this career day, it makes it meaningful for the students – the exploration, the exposure, and the hands-on activities that they’re participating in.”
“It just gives them a special awareness to know that there is more out there,” Miller continued. “It’s just exposing them to a bigger world. It also helps students connect their learning to the real world, so when they’re studying measurement in the classroom, all of a sudden, when they see the construction tech guys bringing in their tape measure, that’s what they’re learning. They learn masonry was involved to build the school. (The A-Tech students) are taking what students are learning in school and they’re making that real.”
The A-Tech students make presentations to the Primary students several times throughout the day.
“It’s a combination of juniors and seniors that I have with me today, but the seniors have two weeks of school left,” Miller said. “They’re on their way out the door and they come in as professionals. They come into this event, they’re confident in their ability, the skills that they’ve already learned. They’ve learned the hard skills in their labs, whichever year they are, and I like to tell them that, contrary to what they believe, they are the experts. They come in today, confident, professional, knowing that they’re the expert of the skill that they’re presenting to the students. They’re sharing career pathways, or little bits and pieces of jobs and careers that a lot of these kids have never even thought about or heard of.”
The A-Tech students also learn from making their presentations.
“I think, for the A-Tech students specifically, it’s meaningful for them, and it helps to boost their confidence,” Miller said. “They’re self-aware, but I want them to really understand that they are experts and that they do have a competitive advantage when they stand next to somebody else, the skills, the experiences, and the knowledge that they have gained over their course of time at A-Tech sets them apart from the person next to them. They’ve gained skills. Sharing this boosts their confidence and just really teaches them, intrinsically, that they own it. All of a sudden, they really understand that they’re ready to be in the workforce, the next step of their lives.”
One reason the experience is such a good one for both the older and the younger students is because of their ability to connect with one another.
“There’s many, many wonderful adults who are good at connecting with students, but these high school students, they really aren’t too far removed,” Miller said. “They have a natural ability to connect. Even though they’re taking on a professional mindset when they enter this school, with that natural ability to connect, they have no problem hopping down on the floor, getting on their level, holding something in their hand, showing the student, and helping them understand the tools, and learn about their program. They meet (the younger students) where they’re at, and then they roll with it. Their ability to connect, I think, is special.”