Wednesday, March 14, 2007

BHS students witness open-heart surgery, trail police officer

Jackie Schlotfeldt News-Bulletin Staff Writer; jschlotfeldt@news-bulletin.com

Belen You may think you want to be a doctor, lawyer, teacher or maybe even a police officer, but wouldn't you love to spend a day in the life of one of these professions and see what it's really like?

For more than 10 years, seniors from Belen High School have spent a day job-shadowing professions they're interested in, getting a little taste of what the job entails.

But, before students ever get to the actual day of job shadowing, they spend a great deal of time honing their writing skills, creating a resume, learning organizational and research skills as well as communication skills. They must then write and send a business letter, contacting the business they wish to shadow and set it up.

"It gives students a better understanding of the real world work requirements that every worker must comply with," said English teacher Wreatha Sturgill

Samantha Gallegos spent a day at the Albuquerque Zoo and Biological Park, and learned that there is so much more to working at a zoo than she ever imagined.

"There's so many things they do, and everything has to be perfect (for the animals)," Gallegos said. "The water has to be treated, and they also make treats for the animals."

Gallegos is interested in a career in marine biology and hopes to one day make a living at it.

"I'm interested in the research part and diving," Gallegos said.

Another student, Desiree Ontiveros, is interested in pediatrics, and when she job-shadowed, she spent a day at the heart hospital and saw open-heart surgery being done on a patient.

"It was intense, but not as bad as I thought it would be," Ontiveros said. "I was scared to do it, but I'm glad I did it. The doctor explained everything he was doing."

Ontiveros said she is considering becoming a registered nurse and working in labor and delivery. "Going reassured me I could do it," she said.

Erin Sanchez wants to go into pediatric nursing, but when it came down to it, she ended up spending a day with a State Police officer, learning what his day is like.

"My mom is a parole and probation officer," Sanchez said. "Now I think I will either do law enforcement or something in medicine."

After spending the day with an officer, she learned how drugs affect a lot of people, especially children.

"It's sad to see little kids and what happens to them," Sanchez said. "If I didn't do this (job-shadowing) I'd still be 'what-iffing' myself."

Tara Zamora has wanted to be an orthodontist since she was in sixth grade and used to go with her brother to his orthodontist appointments.

She spent a day in a busy orthodontist's office and said this is what she still wants to do.

"I loved it," Zamora said. "You have great conversations (with patients), and I wish I could do it (shadow) again."

More than 270 seniors participated in the National Groundhog Day Job Shadowing program, which is now a requirement for seniors at BHS.

Sturgill said the benefits of job shadowing are many and it's a motivation for students to pursue a higher education as well as to boost their confidence, letting them see their dream job and realizing that they can do it.

"Belen High School has made a real commitment to fostering career education through career clusters and career pathways," Sturgill said.

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