SCC, school partners to host Careers on Wheels for more than 3,000 students
Southeastern Community College will welcome more than 3,000 elementary students from Columbus County Schools and Whiteville City Schools for its second Careers on Wheels event on Oct. 22, providing hands-on career exploration opportunities through interactive displays of vehicles, equipment and demonstrations from local employers and industry partners.
The event builds on the success of SCC’s inaugural Careers on Wheels event held in March, which served Columbus County Schools students in kindergarten through eighth grade. This fall’s event will focus on kindergarten through fifth-grade students and marks the first time students from both Columbus County Schools and Whiteville City Schools will participate. College officials hope the event will continue growing while attracting additional industry partners from across the region.
Students will have the opportunity to meet employees from a variety of career fields, explore vehicles and equipment and learn about careers through face-to-face interactions with local employers. Displays will be located throughout the parking lots surrounding SCC’s A-building, C-building and T-building. The event will provide students with opportunities to ask questions, observe demonstrations and learn about career pathways available in their communities.
Participating Columbus County Schools include Old Dock Elementary School, Chadbourn Elementary School, Hallsboro-Artesia Elementary School, West Columbus School, Acme-Delco Elementary School, Tabor City School, Williams Township School and Nakina Middle School. Whiteville City Schools participants include Whiteville Primary School and Edgewood Elementary School.
More than 40 employers and organizations have already registered to participate. Representatives will bring vehicles, equipment and interactive displays designed to engage students while showcasing careers available throughout the region.
“The employers and organizations participating represent a wide mix of career fields,” explained Chalisse Neely, SCC apprenticeship specialist. “Currently, we have three police departments, Coca-Cola, automotive dealerships, Brunswick Electric, Carolina Power & Signalization, landscaping companies, internet company, Forestry Service, transportation companies which include a charter bus and helicopter, cosmetology, Honeycutt Produce and some LLC companies.”
In addition to employers displaying vehicles and equipment, organizations including Liberty Commons, Truist and several SCC programs will provide informational exhibits. Neely said the variety of participants will give students exposure to industries they may not encounter in their daily lives while helping them better understand the wide range of career opportunities available in Columbus County and surrounding areas.
Neely said SCC continues to seek additional business and industry partners interested in participating.
“I would love to have even more organizations participate, particularly those that can bring vehicles or equipment that students may not typically get the opportunity to see up close,” Neely explained. “Examples include cement trucks, funeral vehicles, fire trucks, rescue squads and other wrapped or specialty vehicles.” Click here to RSVP as an industry partner participating in Careers on Wheels!
According to Neely, hosting Careers on Wheels aligns with the college’s goal of introducing students to career opportunities at an early age while helping them become familiar with SCC and the training opportunities available through the college.
“It is important for us to introduce students to Southeastern Community College and help them understand that SCC is a place where they can receive the education and training needed to pursue many of these careers,” Neely explained. “It is one way we can connect with students at an early age and help them begin thinking about their future.”
While the inaugural event welcomed students in kindergarten through eighth grade, SCC adjusted this year’s format after receiving feedback from participating employers.
According to Angie Ransom, SCC associate vice president, many employers expressed interest in connecting with students at an earlier age and creating age-specific career exploration opportunities.
“Employers requested earlier access to students,” Ransom said. “It is never too early to engage with students and spark their interests in lifelong careers that will affect generations to come.”
Ransom explained that SCC and its school partners revised the format based on feedback from the March event to better serve students at different grade levels.
“With the feedback we received from March’s Careers on Wheels event, we decided to bring the K-5 students to campus in the fall and bring the sixth- through eighth-grade students to campus during the spring,” Ransom said. “That way, middle school students can explore our degree programs and early college options once they get to high school. Overall, we received very positive feedback, and we’ll implement minor tweaks to make this event even better.”
Ransom said the revised structure allows employers to tailor activities for younger students while giving older students opportunities to learn more about educational pathways available through SCC.
According to Tina Little, Columbus County Schools director of Career Technical Education and Federal Programs, the event allows students to experience career exploration in a way that extends beyond traditional classroom learning.
“The Careers on Wheels event moves career exploration from simply learning about careers to hands-on, face-to-face interactions where students get to actually meet the employers, see the equipment and experience the opportunities connected to the careers,” Little said.
Little said this year’s event will focus specifically on students in grades K-5 to provide a more age-appropriate and focused experience. Employers will tailor demonstrations, activities and conversations to align with the interests and developmental levels of younger students. School counselors took the lead in planning this year’s event after playing a key role in the inaugural event.
“Our goal is to spark career curiosity early,” Little explained. “We narrowed the grade span to provide a more age-appropriate and focused career exploration experience. Employers will tailor their conversations, demonstrations and hands-on activities to the interests and developmental levels of K-5 students.”
Little said feedback from employers and school counselors following the inaugural Careers on Wheels event was overwhelmingly positive. Employers appreciated the opportunity to introduce students to careers and industries through hands-on experiences, while counselors recognized the value of student engagement and career awareness activities.
“It is always exciting to me to see students engaged in career exploration activities and interacting with local business and industry partners,” Little said. “I have always had a genuine passion for working with children and helping them reach their potential, so I can’t wait to see their excitement as they participate in Careers on Wheels.”
Sheirra Meares, district student support services coordinator for Columbus County Schools, said one of the most valuable aspects of the event is giving students opportunities to interact directly with local professionals and ask questions about their careers.
“What I am looking forward to most is seeing the students’ excitement and curiosity as they interact with professionals and experience careers in a way that goes beyond what they may see in a classroom or hear about at home,” Meares said. “Those hands-on experiences can make a career feel real and attainable for a child.”
Meares said early career exposure broadens students’ understanding of the opportunities available to them while helping them connect academic skills to careers in the workforce. She explained that students benefit from seeing professionals from their own communities and learning about local career opportunities.
“It is important to plant the seed early because career development does not begin in high school. It begins when children start discovering what they enjoy, what they are good at and what makes them curious,” Meares explained. “Our goal is not to tell students what career they should choose. It is to expose them to opportunities, help them discover their interests and encourage them to believe that there is a place for their unique talents and abilities in the world of work.”
For Whiteville City Schools, the event will introduce elementary students to career exploration through hands-on experiences with local employers and industries. This year’s Careers on Wheels event marks the school district’s first time participating.
Susan Watson, career and technical education director for Whiteville City Schools, said exposing students to career and technical education at an early age helps them begin exploring a wide variety of career pathways while learning more about their interests, strengths and future possibilities.
“Early exposure to Career & Technical Education gives K-5 students the opportunity to explore a wide variety of career pathways, including careers they may not have otherwise encountered,” Watson said. “It allows students to begin imagining what different careers look like and understanding the skills, education and experiences needed to be successful in the workforce.”
Watson explained that career exploration activities help students develop skills such as communication, collaboration, creativity and problem-solving while connecting classroom lessons to future opportunities. She said the event allows students to discover new interests through engaging, age-appropriate experiences.
As Whiteville City Schools prepares for its first Careers on Wheels event, Watson said she is eager to watch students interact with employers and experience various industries firsthand.
“Honestly, I am most looking forward to seeing the excitement on those young faces,” Watson said. “I’m thrilled that our students will have the opportunity to explore different careers, see the vehicles and equipment used in those fields and talk with professionals who work in them.”
Watson said she expects students’ enthusiasm and curiosity to make the event memorable for everyone involved.
“What really makes me happy is the students’ energy, their smiles, the questions they ask and their excitement to tell their friends and families about what they learned, saw and experienced,” Watson said. “I know it is going to be a great day, and I am so excited to be a part of it.”
While more than 40 employers and organizations have already registered, SCC continues to seek additional participants, particularly those that can bring unique vehicles and equipment for students to explore.
Employers and organizations interested in participating in Careers on Wheels should contact Chalisse Neely, SCC apprenticeship specialist, at [email protected] or 910-788-6433 for more information or to register.
