On March 15th, 2023, students of the EJES fifth grade class got the opportunity to visit the Mifflin County Academy of Science and Technology. This field trip allowed the students to explore different career opportunities and experience different trades through hands-on activity stations. Ms. Loy, our school counselor, told us that there were opportunities to use an automobile paint sprayer, build a wooden car, eat homemade fortune cookies, and learn about red and white blood cells through the use of jell-o! All these stations made it possible for our students to be exposed to many different career options and will hopefully allow them to better understand and choose their paths in the future. To understand the day from a more personal perspective, we interviewed a few students and staff members to see what they loved and learned!
According to Mrs. Lauver’s student, Miranda Rapp, her favorite station was the daycare and teaching station. She wants to either be an archeologist or a teacher when she grows up, so this station allowed her to see what this could look like for her in the future! When she was asked what she learned from today’s field trip, she said, “you have to learn how to do something before you do it” - from the outside looking in, The Academy sounds like a great place to start this learning process!
Another fifth grader that was interviewed, Aubrey Fogle, said she wants to be a physical therapist when she grows up. Though very different from her desired field, she felt the cosmetology station was her favorite - how cool is it for our students to be able to engage in fields beyond their immediate interests? Aubrey also learned that gross motor skills are big muscle movements and fine motor skills are small muscle movements. The things that our students are taking away from this trip are incredible and will benefit them both in the short and long term.
Riley Milliken, our last student spotlight, said her favorite station was the medical station where they learned about EMS, EMR, and practical nursing. She wants to be a dancer when she grows up, so maybe she will apply her knowledge of the medical world to her career someday. She also was able to see and learn about the house building processes, which caught her attention. She enjoyed her trip and would like to have had more time at each station.
Jennifer Henderson, our LPN/Secretary, was also able to attend the field trip and found precision machining and welding to be very interesting. Though she did not have this exact field trip in her elementary school days, she was able to attend a trip similar to this in high school and actually attended SUN tech for food service and restaurant management! We love having Mrs. Henderson here in the office, so hopefully she did not have too much fun and wants to leave us for these different career opportunities!
All in all, it was a busy and fun-filled day. Though our 5th grade class may seem far off from graduation, we hope this opportunity gave them a broader perspective on what their futures could look like. By introducing these opportunities early, we hope to see our students blossom as they take the next steps in their education - maybe some will even decide The Academy is the place for them!
