Two Harbors students get lesson in planning for future careers

Talk about it

George Olson’s eighth grade social studies class received a lesson on Monday that was not about looking back at our country’s past. It was about looking ahead to their future.

CEOs in the Classroom, a program supported by the Two Harbors Area Chamber of Commerce and the Northeast Minnesota Office of Job Training, gave presentations at Two Harbors High School by different local businessmen like maintenance manager at Sonju Motors Nick Beck and Lake Bank president Peter Jeronimus, who said he was glad to help.

Jeronimus said that he planned to tell students about his own experiences and give them an idea about what kind of salaries different jobs earn. “I want to get the idea through to the kids that what they do today might matter tomorrow,” said Jeronimus. Jeronimus’s presentation also included warnings about social networking sites like Facebook. “Be careful about what you post online,” he told students.

Northeast Minnesota Office of Job Training career counselor Randy Back said that the program is aimed at eighth graders to give them a framework for their future. “This reach-back to eighth graders is to get the gears turning so they know what to expect in the future,” he said.

Two Harbors Area Chamber of Commerce president Gordy Anderson said that the program would eventually reach all of the eighth graders, about 175 to 200 students, in Grand Marais, Silver Bay, and Two Harbors over the next few weeks.

Olson said that he was happy to have his class participate. “Hopefully, this will help them sit down and think ‘It’s pretty expensive to earn a living’ and that the choices they make now will affect them in the future,” he said.

Thirteen-year old eighth grader Derek Fabini said that he enjoyed the presentation and that he learned a lot about money, what things actually cost, and how to budget. Fabini plans to go to college and hopes to get a scholarship. “I’m going to start saving,” he said.

Anderson said that he hopes to receive feedback from the teachers about the presentations. He would like to continue the program next year.

Tags: two harbors, schools