It’s never too early for students to dive into career exploration, according to Tomlin Middle School principal Matthew Johnson.
The school instituted a Career Spotlight program this year. Once a month, a guest speaker visits during lunchtime (each of three lunch groups for sixth, seventh and eighth grade students) and, while students eat their lunch, talks to the students about their careers and answers questions students have about their jobs.“With high schools starting to provide students with a lot of post-secondary course experience during their 9th-12th grade years, we wanted to help our middle grade students learn about options that are out there now, to ensure we are helping to support their future choices,” said Johnson.
The first guest was ABC Action News meteorologist Greg Dee, who spoke about how he tracks weather events. Last month, the school hosted Mayor Nate Kilton, who answered questions from students ranging from how the city spends its money to how it handles hurricane debris cleanup.
Approximately 60 students attended the info session.
Allison Ling, in seventh grade, attended because she wanted to know more about what the mayor does for the community. “I learned about how he organized people and helped families after the hurricane get back to normal,” she said. “I didn’t know that the mayor does so many things and that he’s always helping us.”
Ling, who dreams of becoming a nurse or a teacher one day, found the discussion informative.
For Kilton, it was about educating students about the community where they live. “I really enjoyed spending time with them,” he said. “The time went by quickly because the students were so engaged and asked a lot of great questions.”
Johnson was grateful that Kilton, who has been a big supporter of the school and its programs, took time out of his day to visit the school and discuss local government, infrastructure and the city’s cleanup efforts after the hurricanes. “We figured why not start with figures these student see a lot,” he said. “The position of mayor is a great way for students to learn about public service and what really goes on behind the scenes to build this great community.”
The school’s next upcoming speaker is School Board Member Patti Rendon.
“Our core purpose at Tomlin is that we inspire life-long learners that positively impact themselves and their community,” said Johnson. “Bottom line, we are trying to make incredible humans that make a difference in the lives around them.”