Students learn about careers

HANOVER TOWNSHIP – Amanda Sivco is in ninth grade at Northwest Area High School and she is thinking about a career in marine biology.

On Wednesday, Sivco was at the Luzerne County 911 Call Center in the Hanover Industrial Park to see what goes on at the communications hub. Sivco said she just wanted to see what other careers are out there in case her interest in marine biology wanes.

Sivco and classmate Maranda Koehn were among 20 Northwest ninth graders taking part in the first Career Pathway Job Shadow Day, sponsored by the NEPA Tech Prep Consortium. James Gialanella, work-based education consultant at Luzerne County Community College, coordinated the program that will be the first of many more.

“We want to give the students the opportunity to experience jobs in various workplaces so they make a more informed decision on what career they may pursue,” Gialanella said.

Koehn said she has an interest in law enforcement, so visiting the 911 center gave her a perspective on how emergencies are handled.

“This was a good experience for me to see how 911 calls are handled,” Koehn said.

Other students participating in the day’s events were: Josh Hess, Felisha Davenport, Rachel Walker, Alisha Stavitski, Sarah Ann Shaffer, Shyann Church, Jeremy Verosky, Terrell Sasser, Thomas Adams, Joshua Dunay, Deanna Gill, Kathryn Kalbach, Karly Mason, Allison Mueller, Sara Zawatski, Gunner Major, Todd Sloat and Dalton Tomko.

In addition to the county call center, other businesses accepting students for the day were: Babyage.com, Bedwick & Jones Printing, Cavanaugh Electrical, Creditek (Genpact), GE Healthcare, Karol Media, Nardone Brothers Baking Co., North End Electric, Sears Logistics Service, Unifirst Corp., Mercy Special Care Hospital and Pennsylvania National Guard.

Gialanella said the students were bused to the sites and provided a bag lunch. He said the program is aimed at accomplishing several goals.

“One major element of school reform involves the connection of the school curriculum to the real world after graduation,” Gialanella said. “It involves work ethic, dependability, hard work, teamwork and an appreciation for life-long learning.”

Gialanella said students need to see the connection between school expectations and those required in the workplace. He said students and teachers need to be better informed about the employment opportunities in the region.