Junior Leadership Program members participated in job shadowing across the county

Local high school juniors were spread across the county last Wednesday, as members of the 2014-2015 Junior Leadership class were involved with their annual Job Shadowing Day.

Students involved spent half of a workday shadowing an occupation of their choice as an opportunity to see exactly how things worked in a field that they were interested in.

Various occupations and businesses had visiting students on Feb. 4 including doctor’s offices, banks, farms, pharmacies, utility services, veterinarian offices, schools, attorneys, assisted living homes, realty offices, and churches.

Franklin County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Cassie Medley said the event is in its twelfth year.

“I think this is a great program for students to help open their eyes to what is out there,” Medley said. “Spending half of a day and some gas money might save these kids and their parents some money on tuition down the line.”

Blaze Bishop of Russellville High School shadowed the Russellville Police Department. Bishop spent the first part of her morning turning the tables a bit by interviewing Sgt. Jake Tompkins about the stresses and rigors of his job.

Bishop said law enforcement is something that she is interested in and was curious about the inner workings of the department.

“Cassie Medley asked us to choose three areas that we were interested in as far as job shadowing and law enforcement was at the top of my list,” Bishop said. “I wanted to know more about what I should be learning and focusing on in order to prepare for something like this as a career.”

Just down the street District Attorney Joey Rushing had two visitors as well trying to learn the ins and outs of the legal world.

Ashleigh Morgan and Macy Reeves spent part of their mornings observing the basic operations of court.

“We got to see the basics of court procedures and that was kind of neat,” Morgan said. “It was good to see how things work and to see if this is something that I’m really interested in.”

Reeves said the Job Shadow Day is a great opportunity to find out if an interest could possibly turn out to be more in the future.

Both the elementary and high schools at Belgreen had visitors from the program.

Kelley Presley sat in with Ms. Rachel Hammond’s third grade class. She had a large smile on her face as she explained her choice for job shadowing.

“I like kids,” she said. “I help out with the kids at church a lot and I thought this would be a good opportunity to see if this is something I’d want to do in the future.

“I think students should be a part of this program because it is a good view of what there is,” Presley said.

Hanna Malone and Kaylee Rickard spent their days with Ms. Teresa Witten in the high school.

“I’m glad I’ve been involved with this opportunity,” Malone said. “It lets you see what this job would be like and that is valuable.”

Rickard echoed the sentiment.

“It is good to know what you would get into before you actually have to take the plunge,” Rickard said. “It shows you more than if you were just at a desk.”

The Encore Rehabilitation and Physical Therapy Center also had a pair of interested observers.

Callie Woods and Alyssa Shackelford, both of Russellville High School, stood to the side as a therapist helped a patient with strength exercises.

“I think I’ve ended up being more interested in this field, in this occupation, after seeing what they do here and seeing how they help people,” Woods said. “Not every student gets the opportunity to see what is out there in the real world. I think this is a great program.”

Shackelford said being able to see in person how the job really works is something valuable to her moving forward.

“Seeing how things are done here and talking with the director has let us know some of the more important classes that we need to focus on in school and going forward,” Shackelford said.

Medley said that getting kids out into the working world is a valuable part of the program.

“This is their future,” she said. “This program can really help them get a heads up on what is possible for them and might help them realize they need to push harder in certain subjects in school.

“And a lot of times it helps get some of the kids out of their comfort zones and forces them to experience some of the things they think they might be interested in for the future,” Medley said.