By Amber Jurgensen | Associate Editor
A U.S. military soldier — dressed completely in camouflage — rested outside his tent Nov. 15, in a mock campsite on the grounds of Trapnell Elementary School.
He was visiting Trapnell for the Great American Teach-In, a program in which parents and community leaders come to elementary, middle and high schools to speak about their careers.
In addition to the veteran, Trapnell’s guests included a zumba instructor, firefighter, banker and a guitarist. Plant City Observer Managing Editor Michael Eng and Associate Editor Amber Jurgensen discussed their jobs in the newspaper industry.
Fourth-grader Jaylen Wharton’s favorite speaker was the zumba instructor.
“I like basketball, and I want to go to the NBA, and some NBA players do zumba,” Wharton said. “I was confused the whole time, though, with the dance moves.”
Fifth-grader Keilah Gadson liked the veteran.
“He used a lot of words I didn’t know, so it was neat to find out what they mean,” Gadson said.
Gadson wants to be a hydrologist and hopes next year someone will come to talk from the math and science field.
“I think it’s a really interesting job, and they help the community because they have to make sure the water is pure,” Gadson said about hydrologists.
The students said they enjoyed learning about so many different career paths in a single day.
“It was cool to see all the different careers,” fifth-grader Vincenzo Interdonato said.
Interdonato’s favorite speaker was an architect who showed the students two hotels he helped design.
During the Plant City Observer’s sessions, Jurgensen not only showed students how she interviews sources but also had a couple interview each other.
Contact Amber Jurgensen at ajurgensen@plantcityobserver.com.