By GUSTAVO ARZAC

Principal, Vista High School

Here at Vista High School, we strive to meet our mission statement of “having our students college and career ready.” We have created a process that gives our students many opportunities to learn and experience different career pathways. One pathway focuses on continuing their education while the second pathway focuses on vocational jobs, trades, and careers available to students immediately after high school. I would like to share with you all the pathways our students have taken this year to get closer to being college and career ready.

At the beginning of the school year, students completed a survey about what are their interests and any presenters they would like to see at our school. This was followed up by holding a school site council meeting asking our educational partners, such as parents and community members, what presenters or information they would like shared with our Vista students. We were able to secure the top requested presenters, besides professional basketball players, and were able to provide some actual experiences to go along with the presenters.

In our school site council meeting, our educational partners asked for presenters from colleges and more information on the process to attending college. In September, a college night was held in the Escalon High School theater to inform our students about different colleges, financial aid, and a variety of professions accessible to students immediately after high school. We followed this up by hosting a Modesto Junior College representative in October and a San Joaquin Delta College representative in December. Both representatives did a wonderful job giving our students specifics about the process of filling out college applications, what programs and certifications are offered at each college, and information on how to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Our students asked an abundant amount of questions and our student surveys indicate students were left satisfied with the information obtained from both presenters.

To give our students a better understanding and get the college experience, we took our students to visit both college campuses, one in December and one in January. While on the MJC campus, students were able to walk through the autobody shop and see how a gas vehicle was converted into an electric car. While in the shop, the autobody shop professor was very informative in regards to where this particular program starts, what you learn, and how long it takes to get certified. The next stop for our students was the welding shop. They walked into the workstations and tried on some of the protective gear to get a feel for the hands-on experience. While in the nursing program, they saw some state-of-the-art mannequins that ranged from a toddler to senior citizens along with mock scenarios. They were able to see first-hand students preparing the hospital rooms and proctoring mannequins. Finally, we walked through the agricultural program where students saw it all, from big to small, pigs, horses and sheep, just to name a few.

During the San Joaquin Delta College interactive campus tour, our students were able to visit and walk through many classes and areas of the campus. Students observed and walked through the autobody shop, welding shop and classes, culinary arts classes, automotive, CAT/Diesel/Heavy Equipment shops, and visited the Digital Media programming class along with many key components that make up a college campus such as the library and student center. The survey administered to the students after the tour was an overall beneficial experience that was overwhelmingly positive.

For a hybrid of educational opportunities and careers in different trades, Vista High School students traveled to Stockton for the 17th Annual Construction Trades Career Fair and Turlock Trades Fair. At both fairs, students learned what an apprentice is and about the different apprenticeships offered by each union. Many of these programs allow students to work in a variety of construction trades while concurrently attending classes that these unions have partnered up with such as Modesto Junior College and San Joaquin Delta College. Students were also presented with the benefits of choosing one of these trades as a career and learned about the pay increases every six months, medical insurance, and pensions. Something that stood out to our students and staff was how these companies try to give back to their communities which goes hand in hand with our community service graduation requirement.

Along with the trades presentations, our students were given an awesome opportunity at hands-on experience stations. At these stations, our students were allowed to try out a few trades such as masonry, electrical, and heavy equipment. They were given the pros and cons and the benefits that come with specific jobs. These skilled tradesmen were able to give our students real life experiences and testimonies to their life changing choice in careers. Some shared how they started right out of high school while others found this passion as their second career. In the end, our students left with information, curiosity, a little hands-on experience and more importantly, a great career pathway option for many of our Vista High students.

With welding being highly requested in our beginning of the year student survey, we visited Hogan Manufacturing Inc. Our Vista students were excited to learn they could increase their job opportunities because Hogan Manufacturing Inc. does welding certifications at their locations. While there, they visited the powder coating stations, assembly stations, and welding stations. Our students were able to observe actual workers completing given tasks and learned about job opportunities available to them immediately after high school. A fun fact we learned is that Hogan Manufacturing’s work is not only recognized locally but nationally and internationally.

When thinking of a career pathway, we have always had a request for military services to come present. To help meet this request from our educational partners, we had presentations from the U.S. Marines, U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, and U.S. Army National Guard. Our goal was to have as many branches as possible explain and help students understand what each career entails, the opportunities that come with this life choice, the benefits, and personal satisfaction achieved by joining their particular pathway while also serving their country. The presentations also gave detailed descriptions of what boot camp is like and what opportunities are available immediately after you complete boot camp. To further help students understand their strengths and identify interests in one of these branches, students completed the ASVAB (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery) and had their results interpreted by the U.S. Army one month later.

We have had a full agenda all year long with amazing presenters. To name a few more, we had presentations from California Highway Patrol officer Aldo Garcia, dental hygienist Jessica Lee, truck driver Nick Kroon, multimedia producer Todd Stanley, Universal Technical Institute technician Jacob Walden, and Golden 1 representative Megan Kolofer. The knowledge and experience each one of these professionals shared is priceless. We had a very busy year and we thank each and every one of our presenters. We look forward to more opportunities to partner up with presenters like these in the near future and we hope to provide our students as many college and career opportunities as possible to continue to open doors for their futures. Completing these small steps today has helped our students be better prepared for tomorrow and get them ready to make a difference in the future.

Principally Speaking is a monthly article, contributed by principals from Escalon Unified School District sites, throughout the school year. It is designed to update the community on school events and activities.