STOCKTON, Calif. — Pittman Charter School student Kaniya Flores might only be in 8th grade, but the Stockton teen is already thinking about her plans for after high school. Some of those career options were on display at a Stockton Unified School District Career Technical Education (CTE) showcase Wednesday.
"The most exciting thing for me has definitely been exploring some of my interests like business management or like some of the medical courses," said Flores. "Today was fun."
For nearly five hours, hundreds of Stockton Unified 8th-grade students packed a warehouse at the San Joaquin County Fairgrounds where teachers and high school students set up exhibits showcasing the district's CTE courses.
The classes offered represent 12 different industry sectors from construction and welding to health care, automotive technology, computer programming and more.
For many students the classes offer a hands-on approach to learning about careers in the classroom. Nathan Haley, administrator of the district's CTE program says the classes play an important role in preparing students.
"We find that this is where the rubber meets the road for a lot of kids," said Haley. "We want students to find a career, and find a career that they're happy and they want to pursue they're passionate about, so I think it's a very exciting time."
Angel Garcia, an 8th-grader at Pittman Charter School agrees.
"It's been fun, I experienced different activities that they do at the high schools. Some activities that are fun, that I got interested about," said Garcia on his way out of the showcase Wednesday. "In my opinion, I feel like it's going be more interesting and fun to experience the things that I can learn."
Garcia says his favorite classes from the showcase were technical courses, one of which included a 3D printing station.
With miniature robots being driven around the warehouse's floor, popular songs being remixed live, bricks being assembled and wooden items being made by hand, the class options presented for students were vast.
Thanks to the event, Flores says she thinks she knows which box to check when registering for high school classes later this school year and possibly which career path to take down the road.
"At this point, I think I might end up somewhere in the medical field with each year," said Flores. "It'll be a privilege because you know, not everyone gets to do that."
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