Beech Tree News Network

Each student at Butler County High School got a taste of what their future may hold when they attended Career Day last Wednesday. Students sat through two sessions hearing from individuals working in 54 different fields ranging from military to art teacher to mortician.

Karla Coles, coordinator of the event, said, "Our Career Day falls in conjunction with Operation Preparation, a statewide college/career-readiness initiative. Career Day is the one big event where students get to hear two thirty minute presentations of their choice in a field they are interested in."

BCHS Freshmen Kassie Phelps said after attending the beautician session that, "Career Day really helped me because after attending two sessions, I now have a better idea of what I want to do after high school."

Senior Dillen White said that his two sessions provided him with more information about the careers he is interested in. "I really got a lot of background information about the jobs that I am interested in that I really hadn't thought about before," said White.

Presenters talked about their job experiences to the students as well as the demands of a job in their field.

Butler County Sheriff's Deputy Heath West spoke with students about law enforcement. After his presentation he said, "I wanted to talk with the kids and encourage them that if they wanted to become law enforcement officers, they could make a big difference in our small community. I wanted to encourage them to continue their education after graduation if they don't get into law enforcement immediately."

United States Air Force Staff Sergeant Ben Sewell said that Career Day gives student a "different perspective" on life after high school. "Career Day shows students that there is more out there besides college or a job," said SSgt Sewell.

Coles said, "We really appreciate all of the presenters who came out today to share a bit about their careers with the students; we were just absolutely thrilled to get 54 different people into the school to present today. We even had an engineer come all the way from St. Louis to present." Coles continued, "Gary Moore graduated from BCHS in '75 and he has 32 years of experience as an engineer. He told students that BCHS was where he got his start and it was a great foundation to build on."

Coles added, "We really want students to realize that higher education, whether it is college or a tech school, is necessary."