Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
LARWILL – Whitko Career Academy students showed off the skills they learned and get information about various area businesses during Whitko Career Academy’s fifth annual showcase day.
Director Chris Benedict said the purpose of the showcase is to get business leaders into the building to see the students perform hands-on activities they’ve done throughout the course of the year and talk about the curriculum the students have been learning and how it relates to the experiences they may experience later.
There are 11 programs that operate out of the career academy and all of the programs were on display Thursday. The 11 programs are agriculture, business, construction trades, criminal justice, culinary arts, early childhood program, education professions, engineering, biomedical and healthcare services, precision machining and welding technology.
With the showcase, Benedict said he hopes people were able to “see the talent that we have here locally and can recruit that talent to their business and have our kids know what is available in this area for them to have a career.”
After a meet and greet, Benedict and Whitko Superintendent Amy Korus welcomed the attendees to the showcase.
Attendees were then able to take tours to see students do demonstrations of what they’ve learned.
Later on in the showcase was a career expo, where area businesses and vendors were able to set up booths “and then that’s for the opportunity for our students to learn more about their business,” Benedict said.
Instructors from each of the career academy’s 11 programs were able to reach out to local businesses in the area that pertain to that particular program and students were able to visit those booths.
There were about 70 employers and businesses at Thursday’s showcase in some capacity. In the past, Benedict said the career academy has had students showcase some talents and get an interview the next week at an area company.
“So just kind of hoping to spark some interest with the business leaders as well as our students of what we have right here in the community,” he said.
