North Hills High School students connect with community

The question continues to be asked of youngsters:

“What do you want to be when you grow up?”

Some people on the verge of retirement still don’t know, let alone teenagers who face making life-establishing decisions. But North Hills High School staff members want to make sure their students have plenty of insight.

Guidance counselor Liz Dove and transition coordinator Evan King organized the school’s first Community Connections event in April, inviting professionals from a variety of fields to provide information about careers and job opportunities.

Students in 10th through 12th grades were able to chat with the visitors in the relatively informal setting of the school gymnasium.

“I didn’t really know what to expect when we came in, because we’ve never really had any experiences like this before. And then to come in and see all the stands set up is really nice,” junior Katelyn Ebbert said. “I feel like it’s so hard to figure out what you want to do in the future, and it’s so hard to navigate. Any extra help we can get is very beneficial.”

Katelyn’s perspective matched that of many classmates who stopped by the TribLive table during their travels around the gym, checking out careers in everything from law enforcement and emergency services to trades and education.

“I think it’s very beneficial because it gives us an idea about what we want to do with our lives,” sophomore Maura Johnson said. “Sometimes we don’t even know these things are out here, so it just gives us more opportunities.”

Findlay Fellows, another 10th grader, agreed.

“I think it’s good to learn about all the different opportunities and skills that you would need for jobs you want, so you can build them up before you get to your career,” she said.

A few years prior to graduation, Findlay is considering helping others through social work. Other students are eyeing jobs in health care, which would seem to be a prudent choice for anyone who considers staying in the state with the eighth-oldest median age.

Some want to pursue communications careers, including senior Caitlyn Vance, who plans to study journalism.

“I’ve always been very interested in writing. It’s always been my favorite thing to do,” she said. “But I didn’t start writing for the school newspaper until the end of my sophomore year. My friend got me into it, and we wrote an article together. So ever since then, I’ve been a part of it.”

She edits the website for the student news outlet, The Arrowhead, while also compiling school district information for a “What’s Happening Wednesday” column, reviewing music and writing opinion pieces.

Another senior named Caitlyn — Streza is her surname — looks forward to studying communications at Indiana University of Pennsylvania after working with The Arrowhead and serving as president of North Hills’ TV station.

“I really enjoy it. I’m such a sociable person, so interacting with others and creating entertainment is fun,” she said about the latter experience. “It’s great when I get positive feedback from a video.”

Junior Liliana Ohm, another staffer with The Arrowhead, is considering the communications path of public relations and advertising. Whatever the case, she was impressed with Community Connections.

“I feel like it’s a good resource, to be able to see what careers you’d be interested in and see what it’s actually like to be working in them,” she said.

The event’s focused structure, complete with a guide for viewing on smart devices, resonated with 11th grader Rowan Stelmach.

“Everything’s online nowadays, but you don’t think to look for it. Because there are so many options, it actually feels more limiting,” she explained. “I pick up a lot of flyers for community events and things going on in the city, and this is like the job equivalent of that, where I get to see careers I never thought I’d be interested in that I could possibly do.”

At this point, she is leaning toward the field of psychology.

“It’s the constant, consistent being there that’s so interesting and profound. I really want to help in that experience,” Rowan said. “So bachelor’s, master’s, license and private practice, hopefully. Maybe a doctorate later, but we’ll figure it out.”