Five Hamilton Middle School students were selected to present in front of professionals from the West Coast Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday, March 13 at the Careerline Tech Center. Addy Lamar, Emma Lamar, Kendra Bosch, Elliana Heap, and Ava Perdok represented grades 5-8 and each spoke on their class experience with Work Based Learning in Hamilton.
"It was very intimidating to start with because we are presenting to a bunch of business professionals but it went very smoothly," said 7th grader Kendra Bosch. "I'm very proud of what we did and how we did it."
With over two dozen professionals in the room, the goal of the presentation was to explain the diverse career pathways the students experience, but also to potentially build relationships with businesses in our area.
"Students and I were tasked with developing little speeches about Work Based Learning from our lenses," said Hamilton Middle School teacher, Abby Perdok. "Today offered our students a lot of opportunity, it allowed our students a chance to speak to professionals they don't know about something they've participated in and it allows Hamilton Middle School to shine."
Beginning in fifth grade, Hamilton students are placed into different career pathways with a focus on high-paying and high-demand fields in our communities. The Hamilton Work Based Learning program has quickly become well known as one of the most comprehensive in the state.
"The students get to build on their experiences year after year and see things in different ways and through different lenses," Perdok added.
At the end of the presentation, a member of the West Coast Chamber advocated for the programming at Hamilton Community Schools.
"I can advocate from the business perspective as a partner with Hamilton Community Schools and Work Based Learning, it's wonderful," she said in front of her colleagues. "Every time we meet with students, we are so impressed with their ideas and passion."
