In November, Evan Gifford spent a day shadowing Nathan Mayer, a welder at Heidelberg Materials in Pavilion. The experience was extremely beneficial to the PCS senior, who is currently enrolled in the Metal Trades program at the Mount Morris Career and Technical Education Center, and planning to attend Alfred State College in the fall.
“I was really surprised at the creativity involved in his job,” said Evan. “Nathan has a lot of creative freedom. He can fix something the way he sees fit.”
The job shadow was arranged by Erica Kramell, Evan’s Career and Educational Planning teacher. He spent the day learning about Nathan’s educational and career paths, and got hands-on welding experience.
“The job shadow was extremely helpful because I didn’t know anyone who went to Alfred State for welding, so it was interesting to see Nathan’s career path,” said Evan.
Kramell required each student complete a job shadow this fall, as well as several assignments in preparation for the experience. They created presentations to assess what they learned. Kramell arranged job shadows at NYSEG, Heidelberg Materials, Tompkins, SUNY Geneseo, Kelly's Garage, the Wyoming County District Attorney's Office, and the NYS Park Police.
Sophomore Kiara Hughes was part of a group that shadowed nurses at Noyes Hospital in Dansville. She spent time in both the Emergency Department and the Intensive Care Unit. The experience reaffirmed that nursing is the career pathway for her.
“I got to learn more about nursing and see how their days progress and how they use their time,” said Kiara. “This experience helps us see if this is the path we want to take, and nursing is definitely the path I want.”
Junior Liz Wright spent her job shadow with Dr. Allison Bechard, a neuroscience psychology professor at SUNY Geneseo. The pair started the visit at the college’s Interfaith Center, where they met with Alzheimer’s patients. Liz had the opportunity to listen to patients’ stories and experiences living with the brain disorder. Liz then met with Dr. Bechard’s SUNY Geneseo students, who provided advice about the program and college life. The final stop was the psychology lab.
“It was a cool experience. Dr. Bechard was very interested in my interests,” said Liz. “Job shadows help us realize what we do or don’t want to do for our future. I don’t think I’d go into neuroscience psychology, but maybe behavioral psychology.”