Students enrolled in the Job Exploration Program have been working throughout the community to help build employment skills to help aid them after high school.

There are currently three students in the Job Exploration Program. In the program, the students help perform jobs, either in the school or  local business, such as stamping logos on pizza boxes and restocking the cafeteria.

There are a few prerequisites a student must have before they are given the ability to take part in the program. The student must be either a junior or senior, and must have already displayed proficiency in the skills that their potential job requires.

Job Exploration Program coordinator Rachl Rada feels that the main goal behind the program is to guide the students to “be as independent as possible.”

While the Job Exploration program benefits the students enrolled in it, the paraprofessionals helping the students also feel accomplished.

“It’s a huge reward to us, it’s hard to explain. You can start the job shadowing and it is cool to see them learn and eventually be able to do it by themselves,” paraprofessional Cindy Forster said.

In addition to the paraprofessionals, the students in the Friends in Learning class also go out and work with the students in the Job Exploration program. Friends in Learning junior Clare Young said the class gives the students someone to connect with.

“It benefits the kids because it gives them a peer that is their age that they can come to, talk to and relate to,” Young said.

In addition to the Friends in Learning class benefiting the Job Exploration students, Young feels the class teaches her something also.

“It makes you appreciate the work the paras do,” Young said. “It gives you a better relationship and experience with the students.”

The over-arching goal of the Job Exploration Program is that by the time students graduate, Rada hopes that they have as many options as possible.

“We want them to have as many opportunities that a regular graduating high school student would [have],” Rada said. “It just has to be modified.”