Friday, January 6, Lakeview freshman had the chance to learn the best ways to be ready for a job from three special guests along with learning a few soft skills from the students in the Foundations of Education class offered here at Lakeview.

The seminar started off with Cara Detoro from the Trumbull Career and Technical Center talking to the students about their options once they are done with high school. Her speech focused on the three E’s- Employment, Enlistment, and Enrollment. Although there are great sources around the school and online, students are still too often stuck thinking they have no choice but to go to college if they want a high paying job in the future.

The next speaker was Christian Palich, who works with the Ohio Coal Coalition. Palich educated the students in the importance of having clean social media. One of the highlights of the speech was when Palich said you have to be kind to everyone because your relationship with one person may come back around when you least expect it and could possibly ruin your chance at a job you really wanted.

Finally, Brent Currington, the human resource manager at Ohio Star Forge, told students what he and many other employers are looking for in future prospects. He began with asking who in the audience had a job even if it was shoveling snow. With a small response he began to tell anecdotes about his daughter. Included were stories of her and her friend shoveling snow and how she recently bought a house at the age of 22. Currington also revealed that if students have good attendance in school and are able to pass a drug test, they are already in better shape to get a job than half of the people who apply.

It is often misspoken that it is almost impossible to get a good job out of high school; it is hard but is not impossible. Currington stated that Ohio Star Forge had recently hired a wave of people in the age range of 18-25. He gave encouraging words about students doing what is right for them and their future and warned not to do things just because your friends think it’s cool. One statement that stuck out the most was, “I don’t know if you know this, but when you graduate, all these people you worried about, who influenced your decisions, are gone. Make your own decisions.”

After the speakers went, the students were dismissed into groups and passed through eight stations. The stations, designed by 8th and 9th grade LHS guidance counselor Brittney Abbott and executed by the Foundations of Educations class, revolved around things like how to dress for an interview, keeping your social media appropriate, and how to properly give a handshake and keep eye contact.

For those who don’t know, the Foundations of Education is a College Credit Plus class available to LHS students that’s designed to teach students the basics of being a teacher. These students had to dress for their part in office appropriate attire and got the chance to have a small taste of what it is like controlling and teaching a group of students. Jenna Waid, the teacher of the class, said “It’s a good chance for the Ed kids to run a small group and to do it together, to plan their time accordingly, and to figure out how they are going to teach a group of students something.”

Just from walking around, it seemed like they were doing a great job of engaging the students and actually teaching them at least one thing. There were worksheets, activities, and a powerpoint presentation that the younger students were exposed to. Overall, this was a great seminar to expose to students just beginning their journey through high school. Hopefully, this will become an annual event for all the freshman classes to come.