On February 28, 2004, Life Skills students were introduced to a unit on careers. To kick off the unit, Sergeant Brierton and Sergeant Carpenter of the Army National Guard came to our class to speak about values, career interests, careers, resumes, letters, and interview strategies. The presentation was very informative and really sparked student interest in the subject matter.

For those who don't know, Career Direction is a workshop sponsored by the National Guard. Students receive a handbook on career preparation. Part of the program enables students to evaluate their values and interests through a personal inventory. Our students completed an Interest Inventory and received their results back about two weeks later. Once they received their results, they were able to log onto www.careertrain.com to receive information on careers that matched their inventory. The students really enjoyed this part of the program. Many were surprised as to how close the results were to what they are really interested in doing.

The Army National Guard has been wonderful in helping us with this program. During the week of March 15th, we set up interviews for all of the Life Skills students. Prior to the interview, each student was required to find a job, complete an application, type a cover letter and complete a resume. On the day of the interview, each student dressed up and brought in their information for their interview. Sergeant Carpenter provided his services for the entire week and interviewed almost 100 students during that time. We are extremely grateful for his time and efforts in helping our students become better equipped for their first days on the job. We would also like to thank Sergeant Tatum for his services on Monday. Both gentlemen offered great feedback and support to the students during this time.