Belleville High School has added new monthly career pathway assemblies during Tiger Ten.
Each of the five counselors at BHS are in charge of one of the six career pathways; Mrs. Quick is in charge of Human Services, Mrs. Currie is in charge of Art and Communications and Natural Resources and Agriscience, Ms. Moore is in charge of Engineering, Manufacturing, and Industrial Technology, Mr. Kellum is in charge of Business, Management, Marketing, and Technology, and Mr. Sweets is in charge of Health Services.
Once a month, BHS has a thirty-minute long Tiger Ten where the assigned counselor hosts a career pathways panel. They invite about ten panelists with different jobs from the particular career pathway to share their experiences with attending students with the intent of interesting them about what they do.
As we progress into a pathways-based school, Mrs. Crockett wants to expose students to different types of careers and their associated pathways. Through Xello and personal research, students can learn and discover their desired careers, but one of the greatest ways to learn about a career is to hear first-hand from the people actively pursuing it. During the assemblies, the guests answer a series of standard questions like what made them choose their career, what do you need to do after high school to get into their career, and what could you be doing now to help you move in the right direction. After presentations, the students have the chance to ask the panelists any additional questions they might have and also have the opportunity to form connections inside of that industry. During December’s Arts and Communications panel, the Tiger Music Workshop performed to showcase students working towards their purpose in the arts.
The main idea for these panels is for students to find purpose beyond high school and make connections to get to where they want to be. The assemblies help students see the connections between assignments and careers, to see the purpose of their education, and to understand how high school can help them grow. Counselor Mrs. Susan Moore says, “The purpose of the pathways is to bring exposure to students; hearing from someone directly in the field will bring more meaning to the student’s education.”