Career Day Presenter at West Buncombe

Students at West Buncombe Elementary enjoyed a peek at all of the wonderful career options that are available to them during a school-wide Career Day event! Volunteers from organizations across Western North Carolina spent time with students showing them some of the unique aspects of their jobs.

“Career day events are an important and fun part of our school counseling program,” said Counselor Maggie Wheeless. “Career exploration is a lifelong process that can be a real motivator for students. Because our students are young and don’t have to choose their career path for a while, they can explore in a pressure-free way.”

Presenters hailed from professions including medicine, wildlife rehabilitation, journalism, law enforcement, farming, cybersecurity, first responders, art, renewable energy, and much more!

Deputy Dane Onderdonk, alongside Deputy Michael Hicks, presented with their K9 partners. The students enjoyed meeting the four-legged officers. Deputy Onderdonk hoped to show students that police dogs are an integral part of law enforcement; they work alongside their two-legged partners to help make them more proficient at their jobs. The presenters hoped to get students excited about their future.

“As the kids get older they can have an idea about all of the [career] options that are out there; different fields and benefits,” said Deputy Onderdonk. “Hopefully, the students can steer their learning to whatever path they want in order to achieve their goals.”

“We are grateful to our parents and community members who volunteered their time at Career Day so our students could explore a variety of careers while getting excited about all of the opportunities and learning more about themselves as well,” said Ms. Wheeless.