Students Explore Future Careers Through Visits
Members of Middletown Area High School’s Human Services Pathway recently attended a Career Connection event at the Pennsylvania State Capitol, which showcased the wide variety of government and public policy careers. As part of the experience, students participated in discussions where they were able to interact with government employees, including State Representative (104th Legislative District) and MAHS graduate Dave Madsen, who discussed his pathway to the state house and what life is like as a state representative, and Brian Lemelle, Legislative Director for the Pennsylvania Department of the Auditor General. Mr. Lemelle spoke with students about his career and how he interacts with other branches of state government, including daily interactions with the governor.
Sophomore Lizzie Korsak, who’s interested in a career related to law and public policy, said that she appreciated the opportunity to speak face-to-face with people who work in government and to help guide her in college decisions.
Sophomore Ciara Gartland, who’s interested in a career in law, appreciated the information about different government careers and life advice shared by the speakers, such as “do what you love as a career.”
Students in the Science and Health Pathway also had the opportunity to gain insight into their career interest area by attending the Health and Wellness Interactive Discovery Lab at the Capital Area Intermediate Unit. Representatives from various medical and health and wellness fields, such as respiratory therapy, dentistry, and occupational and physical therapy, were at the event to discuss their jobs.
Dauphin County Courthouse Experience
This fall, students in the Health and Human Services Career Pathway who have expressed an interest in judicial and criminal justice careers went to the Dauphin County Courthouse to watch the first day of a homicide trial. Freshman Marissa McDaid said seeing a real-life court trial shows how completely different a court case is from what you think or how it is portrayed on television, as well as the emotional toll it has on a victim’s family. “It makes you realize how serious and complex the system is - it is one thing to learn about law through textbooks or shows, but being there in person makes everything real,” she said. She added that the professionalism of the lawyers, judges, witnesses, and jurors stood out to her.
Sophomore Harrison Ortiz said the experience helped him gain an understanding of how significant the roles people play are in a case. He noted that the judge serves as the mediator and regulator of the trial, and how the jury makes lasting decisions. Another big takeaway for him was the raw emotion at this type of trial. “It seems hard not to get a biased view on the case when you experience the emotion in the courtroom in person; however, if you serve on the jury, you must have an open mindset as you are the triers of fact,” he said.
Students Get an Inside Look at Lighting Production
In early October, Middletown Area High School hosted an on-site Tech Spotlight field trip with Illuminated Integration, a Middletown-based technology company that designs and integrates permanently installed lighting systems.
Nearly 60 students from seven local school districts were at MAHS to learn and explore lighting, lasers, wireless microphones, rigging, cameras, soundboards, and gain a hands-on understanding of the tools, equipment, and knowledge that goes into show production and stage works.
A huge Blue Raider thank you to all the vendors who attended the event and Illuminated Integration for putting together this experience for students.