HAMMOND – More than 200 students at Hammond Central School had the opportunity to meet and interact with dozens of local businesses from all career fields on Friday, May 19. Business who participated in the event included healthcare, veterinary science, law enforcement, border patrol, automotive, education and construction.

“These real-world interactions are so valuable and aid upperclassman in their career explorations and development in order to help them find the next step after graduation,” said Hammond Central School Principal Lauren Morley. It is also an important topic for elementary students, too. Introducing young children to the potential career options early on in school can help keep students focused and engaged in subjects throughout middle school and high school.

“I thought Dr. Pierce’s presentation was very inspiring; she provided many career fields for Veterinary Science which was helpful” said sophomore Mallory Grabowski.

Students in Grades 6-12 were able to register for three sessions of forty minutes each with a 5 minute break between each session. After the event students ate lunch with the presenters and enjoyed the afternoon with their peers outside.

7th Grader Addison Webster shared, “I appreciate the honesty of each of the presenters. The Law Enforcement session was great because Officer Kroeger and Officer Rosenbarker really made connections with us. They shared their struggles, experiences and what they needed to do to prepare for their field. They also shared the variety of places we can go for employment.”

Sophomore Ryot Kern enjoyed visiting with the Auto Mechanic representative, Allen Howie. “He talked a lot about his position, he showed us a sensor that he has to use to diagnose issues with vehicles he works on, I didn’t realize that was something available to use. That was interesting to the students, we learned about their day to day work and expenses. He shared how he runs his business,” said Kern.

Combined with the career day opportunity the district also hosted a Touch-a-Truck event in the back parking lot. UPK-12th grade students hit the pavement to tour the local businesses who brought machinery for students see.

Fourth grader Lincoln Jones said “we learned that to clean the cement truck they use a supersized nerf ball which pulls backwards to clean where the cement is released, we even got to touch it!”

Lailyn Webster shared that Kelly’s Concrete uses a remote control to move the boom on their truck while Arianna Chapman was excited to learn that some of the seats on their trucks have hydraulics and move up and down when they drive. It was clear that the experience for all of Hammond students was exciting, meaningful and valued.