Tallassee High School students got a look into the future thanks to a mobile studio and classroom from the Alabama State Department of Education.
Students were exposed to possible careers thanks to the Be Pro Be Proud trailer that parked at the school last week.
PHOTOS: Be Pro Be Proud trailer visits Tallassee High School
“This is huge,” new Tallassee City Schools career tech director Dr. Daniel Free said. “It’s full of technology and exposes students to so many different career paths that are out there.”
Students got a chance to drive a tractor trailer, fork lift and mini excavator simulators. They tried their hands at virtual welding and being a lineman. The VR simulators put the students into real world scenarios in the trades. It all simulated various careers as students had the opportunity to sit in a cockpit or reach for tools to work with.
Students saw presentations of many other trades as well and got questions answered by students and staff.
“It exposes them to so many of the trades that have a high demand for employment right now,” Free said. “The students get to see all of the things and begin to look at a future beyond school.”
The Be Pro Be Proud trailer has another advantage. Free can only teach so many students. The trailer can expose students that are not in Free’s classroom. While Free and Tallassee High School already have some of the programs the students got to see, it brought others into view.
“Even if we don’t have the program, we can work with local businesses and industries to get them started down the path if it is something they want to do,” Free said. “We can partner with Southern Union or CACC as well. It is all about helping the students. Anything that we can do to introduce the kid to the trade, if we can get them here.”
It was an experience Free saw a few weeks ago at a conference. Other career tech professionals gathered and one of the programs was the Be Pro Be Proud trailer.
“We got to do a lot of the things the students get to experience in this,” Free said. “It allows us to showcase so much more in a short period of time. Otherwise we would just be pointing the students to websites for more information. We are exposing them to things they may have never thought of.”