Junior Achievement of East Tennessee

HISTORY OF JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT OF EAST TENNESSEE

    Groundhog Job Shadow Day 

Knox County Students Explored Future Career Paths In Washington, D.C. With Senators Bill Frist and Lamar Alexander

Groundhog Job Shadow Day 2005 kicked-off on February 2, 2005, as Junior Achievement of East Tennessee, University of Tennessee Educational Talent Search, Knoxville's Promise, and Project GRAD Knoxville matched more than 500 students from 13 Knox and Blount Counties schools for job shadowing experiences at more than 45 different workplace sites including two very special opportunities in Washington, D.C.

Madasia Middlebrook from Austin-East Magnet and LaToya Andrews from Fulton High participated in Capitol Hill Job Shadowing in Washington, DC.  The two students spent February 1-3, 2005, meeting Senators Bill Frist and Lamar Alexander and Congressman John Duncan, Jr., experiencing special behind-the-scenes tours, and participating in national and local radio and TV interviews.  The students’ special activities comprised of complete tours of the White House, U.S. Capitol, Supreme Court, Library of Congress, Smithsonian, etc.  Additionally, the students had photo opportunities with their hosting Senator and participated in special events in conjunction with the President’s State of the Union Address, which took place on Wednesday, February 2, 2005.

187 Heritage Middle School Students Shadowed In Blount County

Coordinators Marie Richardson of Heritage Middle School and Jacquelyn Craddock of Junior Achievement of East Tennessee matched 187 students from the only school, Heritage Middle, for job shadowing experiences at more than 20 different workplace sites throughout Blount County.  This program is possible through the guidance of Heritage Middle School’s Principals Becky Ervin and Steve Stout, as well as all the local Blount County businesses and parents that deem community involvement and education valuable.

Why is job shadowing important? It immerses students in the world of responsibility and employment, where they can get first-hand knowledge, experience, and familiarity about job skills and career choices. Many career options, especially in business, are abstract from a young person’s point of view.  That’s where job shadowing has its greatest importance. By bringing a young person into the workplace to see a marketing professional, an environmental scientist, or a health care technician, very real and tangible options come alive for that student.  It creates an atmosphere in which a young person can ask questions such as "Why did you choose this career?" and  "What kind of education do you need for this job?"  These are central and vital questions to students when they are trying to decide what career paths to pursue.

To learn more about the 2009 Groundhog Job Shadow Day initiative contact Jon Minnick at Junior Achievement of East Tennessee at (865) 457-2461, or visit www.jobshadow.org.