The Haines High School has lined up a series of presentations to help students learn about future job opportunities. The speakers come from ten different industries, and they are sharing their experiences and advice with young people who will soon enter the job market.
It’s career week at Haines High. Every day two industries are showcased. Students get to ask presenters about their work, how to get into specific fields, and what it’s like to be in the job market.
Kristen Brumfield is a counselor at the school. She organized Career Week.
Brumfield: “We’ve had fold from the tourism industry, we’ve had people from the tourism industry, we had people from the mining industry, all three mines were here and talked about the opportunities, yesterday we had a bunch of tradesmen, we had electricians and plumbers and carpenters and construction workers, and surveyors here, and it was really exciting because they talked about how their jobs are all very different but they all overlap in order to complete a job, in many cases, and lots of kids fired up about that.”
Employees from the Haines Borough came, and from the ferry system, the U.S. Forest Service, and the state Department of Transportation. Small businesses and nonprofits are also part of the mix.
Brumfield: “We are asking the people to tell the kids, what does your day look like? What does your job look like? Did you go to school to study this, what did that look like? How long did it take you, did you spend in school? Was it trade school, was it college? Is what you studied what you are doing now, what is the path, because we want kids to be open to the fact that not all of our jobs are a direct path. We sometimes study one thing and end up in a whole other field.”
On Thursday, the focus is on the healthcare and law enforcement professions. Students gather in the library, and listen to police, border patrol and Alaska State Trooper officers tell them how they got where they are, and what they do.
Trooper Colin Nemec opens the presentation.
Nemec: “I’m a wildlife trooper, I deal with the fisheries and wildlife, I’m originally for Illinois, from the Chicago area, and I went to college to become an environmental ecologist. I was a wildland firefighter for a little bit, and then a restoration ecologist. Then after about five years, I didn’t enjoy it anymore, and I had a friend who was up here as a state trooper, and he convinced me to apply and come up here.”
Nemec tells students that no college experience is necessary to become a Trooper, but life experience matters. The agency will not hire anyone under 21, and checks thoroughly the applicant’s background.
Nemec:” They call up your friends, your family, your coworkers, people who you lived with throughout your whole life, and they ask them; ‘Would you feel comfortable with this person coming to your door if you called for help.”
Borough Police Officer Travis Russel concurs.
Russel: “When I went through the academy, I was 28 years old. We had people with master’s degree, bachelor’s degree, no degrees, a former catholic priest, we had people who were carpenters, welders, a former teacher’s assistant. Those that did best in law enforcement were those that had experience outside of that.”
He recommends that those interested in a law enforcement career seek a broad range of work experience, and find something they enjoy doing while they work towards their goal.
Joshua Price is a Border Patrol agent. He has lived in Haines for eight years and found the profession following family members’ suggestions.
Price: “When I got into this, I was a restaurant manager, I had zero law enforcement experience. I’d been in the military,and I’d gotten a college degree. You’d be surprised what you learn, I went to a fraud document’s class, a deception detection class, high speed pursuit, computer analytics, just things that I never thought that I’d get into.”
Students ask about their gear, and the officers gamely pass a bulletproof vest around, and more.
Nemec: “Anybody want to hear what a Taser sounds like?”
Meanwhile, in the highschool open area, staff from the clinic and fire department put on a skit in front of another group of students to explain what they do.
—Man out of breath, EMTs come to help—
They show the range of healthcare professionals involved in just one incident, from the initial call, the EMTs arriving with the ambulance, then the ER nurses and doctors.
Dr. Noble Anderson talks about the variety of roles in healthcare and how exciting the profession can be. He encourages students to approach providers and ask to see what they do.
Anderson: “Ask somebody if you are curious, ask if you can shadow. I know I’ve had shadows in the hospital, it’s really just tag along for the day and see what the job is like.”
Anderson does advise against certain choices.
Anderson: “I actually wouldn’t recommend anybody do dermatology, radiology or pathology because AI is going to take your job.”
Students sounded a positive note about Career Week. Jack Smith says he saw the healthcare presentation.
Smith: “I do want to get my certification for at least CPR, but I don’t know if it’s quite the thing for me.”
Student Ila Nittleton says she enjoyed seeing the presentation about the trades.
Nittleton: “It’s just cool to see all the different people and what they do and that they took time out of their work to come teach us about what they do. As of right now I’m looking at welding academies, down in the states.”
School counselor Brumfield says she is pleased with the success of Career Week.
Brumfield: “I definitely want kids to know that college is not the only route, that is not for everybody, some people go right into the workforce, and we definitely want that to be a message that kids are getting from all the industries. They are really excited going up and talking and saying, ‘can you tell me more about apprenticeships to be an electrician, and tell me more about how to become a carpenter, and what are these unions that you are talking about.”
She says she loves showing students how many opportunities are right here in Haines.
