THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, April 17, 1996 TAG: 9604170384
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PERRY PARKS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ELIZABETH CITY LENGTH: Medium: 70 lines
Beth Foreman fielded some personal questions from a computer in Northeastern High School's Career Development Center on Tuesday.
The Camden County teacher (and daughter of Elizabeth City-Pasquotank School Board member Peggy McPherson) tapped yes or no to queries about her work preferences: Did she like communicating with others, planning and directing activities, doing lots of things at once?
McPherson, looking over her daughter's shoulder during a Career Development Center open house, joked ``We're trying to teach this little girl what she wants to be when she grows up.''
The joke continued when the computer displayed a list of jobs matching Foreman's interests with her career options. The middle school instructor giggled as she read her choices: Actress, amusement park entertainer, book editor.
Superintendent Joe Peel, also watching the process, said with a smile that he thought the best choice was ``carnival announcer.''
For nearly 40 adults from Elizabeth's City's business and education community, the brief tour of the Career Development Center was an experiment and a game.
For Northeastern High School senior Andy Bucher and hundreds of other students, the center is a place to start looking - for a career, for a job, and for a place to learn the skills to meet their goals.
Bucher, a member of Vocational Industrial Clubs of America, said the center has helped him and his friends find the right vocational and technical schools to fit their interests.
It has also helped college-bound
students find universities with majors in their chosen fields. And it's helped students who don't know where they're going to hone in on possible careers.
``Because we have the career center, we are able to do so much more for students,'' said Martha Goodman, director of student services.
The center has 10 computers loaded with software that helps students clarify their interests and matches them with possible career choices. Students curious about particular careers can read job descriptions and learn about the skills and education needed to land a job in that field.
The center also has several reference books, pamphlets and videos describing a range of jobs and educational opportunities. It has been open since the fall but was introduced to the community in a short program Tuesday.
On hand for the ceremony was June Atkinson, head of work force development for the state Department of Public Instruction.
Career centers are more important now than ever, she said, because jobs are becoming more and more specialized - and because students get their information about careers from some unreliable sources.
``Knowing about careers is much more difficult. We can't observe, as we once could,'' Atkinson said. ``The majority of our students now get an idea of what the world of work is like from television.''
Officials said they want the center to be a gathering place for community members, and a place where students and parents can discuss the future together.
Principal David Christenbury said the school is still learning about the center's potential.
``I think we haven't used it as much as it could be be used, because it's new to us,'' Christenbury said.
``We hope to have it open in the evenings next year, and get more community people to come in and use the room.'' by CNB