MARIETTA - "You might want to step back," said Peoples Bank Information Technology director Steve Nulter to a dozen or so eighth-graders touring the bank's IT department Tuesday morning.
In a secure access room that houses the bank's powerful computer servers, Nulter used a special tool to suction up a floor board.
Gathered around the hole, students were able to sneak a peak at the hundreds of wires that run the bank's massive data system.
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Photo by Jasmine Rogers
People’s Bank IT director Steve Nulter displays the inner workings of the bank’s complex computer servers to a group of eighth-graders from Marietta Middle School and St. Mary Elementary School Tuesday.
"It seems like something that would interest me. I do pretty much everything on the computer," said Marietta Middle School student Kevin Thomas.
Thomas was one of 238 MMS and St. Mary Elementary School eighth-graders who got to get up close and personal with potential professions Tuesday during the schools' annual career field day.
The career day was a good chance for students to visualize themselves in a particular profession, said Mary Lou Moegling, job shadowing coordinator for the Teen Career Awareness Initiative.
"When you have a traditional career day, you visualize the speaker in that career. This lets them see themselves there," said Moegling.
Local businesses opened their doors to the students who were divided into nine career fields based on a survey they had taken at school. Through science laboratories at Microbac to salon spa rooms at Kat's Hair Salon, the students explored and asked questions about professions of interest.
Not all students have whittled it down to just one career choice.
Eighth-grade St. Mary student Reagan Hass toured Teri Ann's clothing store and Kat's Hair Salon along with a group of students interested in fashion. However, Hass is also interested in a career as a hospital lab technician.
"I've already been on a tour of the whole hospital so I wanted to give this a try," said Hass, who expressed interest in owning her own business.
Trying out your options is definitely important, said Kat Garvin, owner of Kat's Hair Salon.
Though Garvin said she loves her current profession, she began her career as a secretary in Okinawa, Japan. She then decided doing something creative was more rewarding.
Garvin's career path is a perfect example that anything is possible, given enough drive, she said.
"It depends on how much you work. It takes an ongoing education," said Garvin.
Those ever changing styles and trends are exactly what MMS student Trinity Abicht loves about the field.
"It seems kind of exciting. Other jobs don't seem so exciting but with this there are so many hairstyles you can do," said Abicht.
Abicht, who was part of the group that indicated an interest in fashion, also toured Teri Ann's and learned about fashion and owning a small business. Owner Teri Ann Pfeffer said a deep passion for what she does is one of the reasons she has been so successful over the years.
"They need to think ahead to what they want to do. We all need to love what we do, and I do love what I do," said Pfeffer.
This year's program was the first sponsored by the Duke Energy Foundation's ICAN! Classroom Enrichment mini-grant. The grant not only paid for transportation, but also provided the students with an Apply iPad to record and edit a video about their experiences, said Moegling.
