BCC students take part in Career Partnership Day, shadowing a mentor at National Geographic
On Thursday, December 3, 2015, the Greater Bethesda-Chevy Chase Chamber of Commerce, Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School, and Junior Achievement of Greater Washington partnered to provide students with the opportunity to explore the world of work by visiting nearly 50 workplace sites across the region and shadowing a mentor for the day.
NBC4 Anchor Aaron Gilchrist kicked off the day's events, offering some words of wisdom to students. "Find work that you love and want to get out of bed for," he said. "Be persistent. Find something that you like doing and doggedly pursue that opportunity. If you choose a job you like, you are going to love doing it - even if it exhausts you."
Career Partnership Day helps students learn about work by taking them behind the scenes in a business, often providing their first real look at jobs in the 21st Century. Spending time at a work site can even help change students’ attitudes about schools and their future. Prior to their workplace visit, students prepare by examining specific skills and career clusters, completing their own career assessment and a mission statement for their job shadow on Career Partnership Day. While at one of almost 50 regional businesses and organizations, students collect information to help fine-tune their planned path beyond high school. Following Career Partnership Day, students analyze their experience and share lessons learned with their peers.
A recent report that surveyed students after the JA Job Shadow™ found that 98 percent of students agreed that doing well in school helps them achieve career goals. Job shadowing helps students learn about work by taking them behind the scenes in a business; 90 percent of students felt the Job Shadow experience made them more aware of career options; and, 88 percent of students felt that participating in Job Shadow made them realize the importance of staying in school.
This year, almost 50 workplaces took part and welcomed more than 140 students who are participating from Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School, including the Naval Medical Research Center, Suburban Hospital, U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, National Geographic, and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Learn more about the JA Job Shadow™ at www.myja.org/programs/jobshadow.