Eighth graders are deciding between different professions, as part of a new career mentoring program with Glenwood Springs Middle School and a Carbondale-based nonprofit. Aspen Public Radio’s Elise Thatcher attended a career expo for the program and has this story.
About sixty students are gathered in this spacious common area at Glenwood Springs Middle School. Most are clustered at tables around the room, except the eight with personal trainer Mike Pier. “Does anyone here know what a private personal trainer does?” he practically shouts, almost bounding around his table. “No? Does anyone go to PE?” This station will quickly become the most visible in the room, as Pier leads his potential mentees into doing squats on a bosu ball, sprints, and other athletic exercises.
“I just keep pitching. Just getting them into exercise, get them into fitness, keep em going...that’s my goal,” explains Pier between groups of would-be mentors. “When you’re doing personal training [you do] everything from working with individuals to working in group fitness.” Pier is showing kids that if they mentor with him, they’ll see what it’s like to run a physical therapy business, too. “The coaches are really selling their internships today to the students,” says
Youth Entity Associate Director Heather Hicks. Her nonprofit put together this career fair, which involves “a three minute pitch, it’s sort of like speed dating… [the mentors are] all talking about their professions, and each coach is dressing the part and brought some props to make it as real life as possible.”
Students in this event have already taken a test to get to know what personality traits they have, like “investigative” or “social.” Many have several color-coded bracelets on their wrists, and they’re looking for coaches who have the same bracelets as well. The students will ultimately choose which professional coach to mentor with over the next month and a half. Besides Pier, there’s professionals ranging from veterinarians to chefs to other career paths. “What I’m noticing is there’s a little competition between the coaches,” observes Hicks, “and the ones that are making it more interactive with the kids seem to be really succeeding.”
More specifically, most people in the room look a little distracted by the impressively energetic Pier and his eight kids running back and forth. Jill Hamrick is three feet away, at the next table, and she’s fully battling for the attention of her students. “I am a licensed cosmetologist. Does anyone know what that means? Cutting hair?” Hamrick has an array of products, mannequin heads, brushes, and other tools of her trade spread out in front of her. She gets into the nitty gritty on some topics, like adapting hair-cutting scissors to prevent carpal tunnel syndrome.
And Hamrick’s efforts seem to be paying off. At least one potential mentee is eighth grader Talia Castillo. “I think it’s great. I’m really excited to try the cosmetology, and the food,” she beams at two chefs on the other side of the hall. Castillo’s traits are investigative, social, and enterprising. “I’ve always to be in the kitchen, and helping out my mom, when she’s at work” she explains. “It’s just something I’d like to be able to do.”
Assistant Principal Sandy DeCrow laments not having a similar mentorship option when she was in school, many moons ago. And she says this is especially helpful for kids later this year as they prepare for the future. “At the end of this year they start to build their four year plan, for what classes they want to take in high school. And they do that in order to get into the college they want to. So you... have an idea of what you want to do later on.”
Over the next six weeks, students will meet each Wednesday with the professional coach of their choice. By the end of the program, they may have some answers to that lifelong question: what do they want to be when they grow up.
