High School juniors in an engineering workshop at Penn State Beaver construct a model electric dragster car. The workshop, led by Penn State faculty and engineers from Shell Polymers, was part Flourish Beaver County's Future-Ready Career Days, a series designed to teach local high school students about career pathways.
MONACA, Pa. — High school juniors from five local school districts spent March 26 at Penn State Beaver learning about future career pathways through hands-on activities and interacting with professors, students and industry professionals.
The event was the second of a three-part career-exploration series, "Future-Ready Beaver County," with Penn State Beaver, educational nonprofit organization Flourish Beaver County, Community College of Beaver County (CCBC), Geneva College, Job Training for Beaver County and the Beaver Valley Intermediate Unit.
Students from Aliquippa, Beaver Falls, Freedom Area, New Brighton and Rochester Area high schools participated.
The morning began with panel discussion followed by interactive workshops led by faculty members focused on topics including biology, criminal justice, psychology, engineering, artificial intelligence, and business and supply chain management.
Penn State Beaver student Sudha Balasubramanian talked to the visiting students about his biggest adjustment once he became a college student.
“From high school to college, that is a very big jump. At college no one is going to tell you that you have to do your homework or where to do your homework or when to do it,” he said. “Time management is a mandatory skill.”
Student Mehrail Aziz talked about choosing a major. “Having a passion helps you get to your major,” she said. “It’s not the first thing to stress about when you go to college. Your first choice might not be your final choice.”
Industry professionals also shared their thoughts. Scott Mayhew, a maintenance turnaround and construction manager with Shell Polymers, told the students about the importance of gaining different perspectives, especially in the workforce.
“When I got out of college, I would surround myself with people who looked and sounded and thought just like I did. And that doesn’t necessarily help solve any problem bigger than the way I thought about it,” Mayhew said. “[Now] I try to surround myself with people who look, think, feel different than I do. That’s how we’ve solved some really big problems.”
Karenia Bryant, a junior from Beaver Falls High School, said she chose business and engineering as her two workshops because she is looking into a career that involves business, and she’s always liked engineering.
“The people are great,” she said of her visit to Penn State Beaver. “It was very interactive, and we were very involved, which is one of the best things for field trips. We actually got to learn something through having fun.”
"This event was a great opportunity to connect local high school students with our campus faculty and industry experts," said Stephanie Petroski, teaching professor of biology at Penn State Beaver. “We want students to recognize Penn State Beaver as a viable option for higher education within the community and understand the opportunities present on the campus. These experiences can help students envision a future that can grow into a meaningful career path. The opportunity to highlight our degrees and introduce students to disciplines they may not have known existed and empower them to make informed, future-shaping decisions is the goal of this event.”
Petroski said she’s thankful to Flourish for partnering with the campus and collaborating “to help strengthen community ties and help students envision their place in a rapidly evolving workforce.”
The first event in the "Future-Ready Career Days" series was held at Geneva College in February, and CCBC will host an April session.
