Career Exploration from a Parent’s Viewpoint
By Danielle Surkatty

“What do you want to be when you grow up?” With all three of my kids currently in college, we’ve come a long way from those early childhood discussions about future careers and are well into the exploration stage.

It’s been exciting to see the influence on my kids’ career explorations from the school teachers who inspired and the job supervisors who educated them along the way. Along with that positive influence, I need to remember and not discount, the not-always-nice customers and fellow co-workers they’ve learned to deal with. Being exposed to company rules and regulations, employer expectations, and working with other staff – all these experiences did their part to teach them about the world of work.

Fortunately, they have all benefited greatly from opportunities to “test the waters” – initially, by looking over the shoulder of a local professional in a job shadow situation, then the experiences through summer jobs and volunteering for civic organizations. The latest goal, now that they are in college, has shifted from simply ‘a summer job’ to the search for meaningful summer internships that relate to their intended careers and helping them to build specific skill sets.

As adults, we can all look back and identify individuals who guided us to decisions that would influence the course of our lives. For me, it was the inspiration of Joe Carson and Ollie Nelson at the YMCA that set me on the path to my first career in international YMCA service. I believe, as part of today’s business community, it’s now my (our) chance, and challenge, to be one of those inspirational individuals that makes a difference in setting the course of a young person’s life.

I recently volunteered for the CSC-sponsored Job Fair at the Southeast Community Center. It was encouraging to see the many members of the business community who stepped forward to do mock interviews, help the kids fill out applications, teach various classes, and offer information on education and career opportunities, all with the goal to help these young people find that first employment experience.

The process reminded me that, despite my busy work and family life, it’s important to take the time to reach out to the youth in our community. I can help your kids and you can help mine, because, in reality, they are all “our kids”, aren’t they? It all comes down to a partnership – parents, schools, community organizations, and businesses – all working together to launch our youth into productive lives.

So, thank you, Yakima, from this parent; to the countless teachers who inspired and to the community leaders who taught the values of service by example; and more specifically, to the owners and staff of local businesses and organizations, thanks, for believing in my kids, and yours. Thank you for giving them that all-important first summer or after school job and for subsequent internships that introduced them to the real world of work. I know that, someday, our youth will look back and recognize the key role their early employers played in their lives.

Why I Host Students Exploring Careers
By James R. Milliron, D.C., FICA

Mentorship starts with leadership. The Yakima Herald Republic reported the “Four things people want from their leaders” – May 29, 1996. I was so impressed with the article, I cut it out and creased it away between pages seventy and seventy-one of Warren Bennis’ book “On Becoming a Leader”. After loaning the minor tome out a few times, I was surprised to see this small article, which honor’s Bennis, still holding court there.

His first thought about leadership was the issue of direction. People want leaders who have purpose and passion. They want to know, where are we going? Secondly, trust is an important ingredient. Leaders must be truthful, caring and can be relied on. Next is hype. Confucius said, “Leaders are dealers in hope.” Leaders are optimists. Lastly, leaders get results. They breed success and inspire with their words and have believable persuasion. The article continues with a management quiz: Check all of the following that others would use to describe you.

   Competent
   Predictabl
   Sense of purpose
   Trustworthy
   Successful
   Optimistic
   Hopeful
   Visionary
   Caring 
   Insightful

Seven or more checks may suggest that you have characteristics of leadership.

It takes these qualities truly to be a leader and it takes leadership to become a mentor, to show the pathway for our young on the experiential road to success. I was fortunate to have two mentors in my youth; Father William Menninger (Marquette High School) and Leonard Pellitri (Grossmont College – El Cajon, California), who were both English teachers. They inspired me to read, to listen to music other than the Beatles and be personally expressive artistically. Over forty years have passed, but I still reflect on the words of Rene Char, “I do not have the voice to praise you, great brothers.” They were big and great men and I am still pursuing the ability to fill their shoes.

In conclusion, a mentor is a leader. It has been my desire to be there to aid. I have had many opportunities, but I still chip away at perfecting my abilities. Life is a continuum. I challenge you, as myself, to travel straight down the road.

School-to-Work Coordinator
By Mal Kamimoto
West Valley High School

As the School-to-Work Coordinator at West Valley High School, my primary concern is arranging job shadows and internships for our students. Without the help of the Chamber of Commerce’s Business Education Partnership (BEP), this would be impossible. Having been on board at the inception of the BEP program, I’ve seen it grow and change thorough the years to what it is today.  I have seen the program grow from 25-50 West Valley High School students participating to 250 or more job shadow placements last year.  With the guidance and hard work of Cindy Desgroseillier and Betty Wilkinson, the program has become a meaningful and great opportunity for our students to learn about the “real” world of work. 

At West Valley High School job shadows are a requirement for juniors as part of their career component. They research careers using WOIS/The Career Information System. They also take the ASVAB test (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery) to learn about their interests and aptitudes for particular occupations. Students complete their career exploration with a job shadow. Experiences at the job shadow can seem positive and negative. If students find that the specific career is not to their liking (negative), they still have time to reevaluate their choices and strategize to find a suitable career (positive). A large majority of the participants have enjoyed and benefited from the job shadow experience.

Being at a work site gives the student a realistic view and exposure to the career they might be interested in. With the supervisors at the work site, they can get accurate answers to questions they may have about the job tasks, working conditions, compensation, training and other useful information. The BEP is an integral part of our program to connect students to the appropriate career choices.

Future Wildlife Biologist
By Belen Lopez

Studying to be a Marine or Wildlife Biologist is one of my biggest dreams for my future.   I plan to make this my career and am looking forward to many opportunities in reaching my goal. I have had on opportunity that has brought me a step closer to achieving my goal. On February 22, 2008 I was able to shadow a Wildlife Biologist, Lisa Dunham, at the Yakima Training Center.

The whole job shadow experience was something I will never forget. I learned a lot about being a Wildlife Biologist from the work they do, the different materials they use, and other specifics in this job field. Upon arriving that morning, it was 6:00 a.m. and really cold, but I was ready to get started. One important thing I learned in this job is it’s important to dress warm. You will be outside most of the time at different times of the day and the weather can be unpredictable.

During the job shadow, we were observing Sage Grouse. I didn’t know what a Sage Grouse was until I saw one for the first time. We were observing these birds through special binoculars that cut through the fog of the early morning and I learned that you always need the proper equipment when trying to gather data. I also learned to observe the birds through different characteristics and behaviors, the environment they are spotted, and the number of the birds and how they interact with each other.

I am still very interested in this pathway for my future career. It takes more than just loving animals and taking notes to want to do this kind of work. Before my job shadow, I was expecting the work to be observing animals and plant life without actually doing hands on work besides taking notes. I also expected the job to get really dirty, but for the most part you stay neat and when you do get dirty, it usually is for good observation.

My passion for animals and being outside still gives me the passion for wanting to have a career in this field. I believe that with hard work and understanding the value of this work, I can achieve this goal and become a successful Biologist. I would like to thank Lisa Dunham for giving me the opportunity to job shadow a Wildlife Biologist. It is something that I will never forget and has brought me closer to achieving my dream.

BEP Job Shadows Participate in Memorial’s YouthWorks Program
By Nicole O’Connor, MNPL
Manager, Volunteer Services and YouthWorks
Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital

The Yakima Chamber’s BEP job shadow program was one of the first projects I worked on when I came to Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital (YVMH) in January 2006. We piloted that first spring with Mal Kamimoto at West Valley High School. We were soon able to expand the program across Yakima County through our partnership with Betty Wilkinson at the Yakima Chamber of Commerce. Students are now able to apply online through the BEP website and orientation sessions are hosted at the Chamber offices.

In this orientation, students learn about the general hospital environment, safety codes and procedures, and patient confidentiality regulations. It completes required education for our accrediting agency, but more than that, it helps them be more comfortable in the hospital environment. Students are them placed in hour-hour job shadow experiences at YVMH based on their interests and hospital staff availability.

Students from 15 area high schools have participated in the job shadow program and our list of participating hospital departments keeps growing. There are now 13 areas in the Memorial Family of Services that students can shadow in. Several students who have job shadowed with us have gone on to become volunteers, spending 2-4 hours a week for a minimum of three months assisting in various positions. Others have completed senior exit projects with us.

The job shadows have become a vital piece of our overall YouthWorks program and is getting attention. I was asked to present at the Washington State Workforce and Economic Development Conference in Tacoma this fall. Our partnership with the Yakima Chamber of Commerce and Betty has really helped this program take off. We look forward to having these students back as colleagues.