Career Expo hopes to help 8th graders stay in school
BILOXI, MS (WLOX) - About 6,200 eighth graders from the lower six counties of Mississippi will play the game of life at an interactive career expo sponsored Pathways2Possibilities over the next two days.
Navigator Credit Union is one of the companies involved. Tiffany Murray used the game 'Life' as inspiration behind the credit union's display.
"For example, the student might have a green light sign which would be a positive, like you saved three months worth of savings in your account, and you can take one step forward. It's just certain obstacles to kind of help them realize what could hurt or help their credit report," said Murray.
The students will begin the day learning how to dress for success with the Beau Rivage's Learning and talent development manager, Stephanie Williams, and her team.
"They'll walk through a course where they are going to do mock interviews also play career jeopardy to give them an insight into what career fields they can go into based on the position," said Williams.
Each pathway is set up for the students to have a hands on experience, hoping to inspire them to further explore that pathway. One of the more interactive experiences the students will get is learning how to milk a cow. Mississippi State University's department of animal and dairy sciences says its important the students learn that milk doesn't come from the grocery store.
Brannon Leblanc with SAAD healthcare has a variety of things for those who are interested in home healthcare, but as an educator for more than two decades Leblanc says no matter which pathway interests students the most, ultimately it's about motivating them to stay in school.
"A lot of times they're looking for something to get them excited, their teachers so that they will stay in school and work towards those degrees instead of dropping out at an early age like here in Mississippi," said Leblanc.
About 130 public, private, and non-profit organizations and companies are involved in the pathway activities.
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