“What do you want to be when you grow up?”
It’s a question high school seniors grapple with as they prepare to graduate and continue their education or enter the workforce.
Future Career Academy (FCA) is helping students answer this question through a yearlong program that combines classroom learning with community-focused business partnerships. In their English 4 class, they take career aptitude tests, watch industry exploration videos, learn to how to dress for success and build a resume.
Last Friday, those students, more than 300 strong from Durant, Plant City and Strawberry Crest High Schools and Simmons Career Center, left the classroom and boarded buses that rolled around town, delivering them to local businesses offering in-demand, living wage, entry-level jobs with long-term career growth and sustainable employment.
The first stop on one of the two Simmons buses was Gordon Food Services (GFS), where students learned about the company that distributes food to commercial clients, toured the warehouse and learned about the myriad of job opportunities available at the company, from maintenance technicians and drivers to warehouse selectors and office staff.
GFS Human Resources Manager Lynn Pomeroy said the company is happy to connect students to careers. “We think it’s really important to help your high school students figure out what they want to do, it’s so hard for kids who don’t know what they want to do when they get out of high school,” she said. “We offer a lot of opportunities and this program is good for them and it’s good for us.”
After the tour, students boarded the bus to drive to their next stop, South Florida Baptist Hospital, where students learned that the hospital, who will be moving to its new facility at the end of April, has several different entry-level career options.
Several students were interested in careers in medicine, including Daniela Villanueva, who went up to staff after the presentation to discuss future employment opportunities. She hopes to one day be an ICU nurse and when she learned that the company offers tuition assistance, she wanted to learn more. “After high school I hope to get hired here,” she said. “I’m interested in being a transporter as a starting point toward my ultimate goal.”
Sarah Dominey was also interested in the hospital but for a different reason. She currently works at Culver’s and has earned a couple of food service certifications while at Simmons. “I liked the cafeteria at Baycare and Gordon Food Services,” she said. “I want to explore my options and see what’s open.”
The bus then took students to the Plant City Stadium, where in addition to a lunch catered by Chick-fil-A, city employees shared a presentation that highlighted the different departments within the City of Plant City government and job opportunities available in each one. Students got a close-up look of several pieces of heavy equipment that city employees use on a daily basis as City Manager Bill McDaniel hurled t-shirts at gleeful students from a boom truck.
“Remember today is all about showing you career opportunities that are right here in the Plant City community for you,” he said. “We’ve shown you a whole host of them today so when you’re thinking about your future and you’re wondering where you might want to land, keep Team Plant City in mind.”
Planning and Zoning Coordinator Robyn Baker also spoke to the crowd, sharing that a career is not as much a sprint as it is a marathon and that where you begin your career is not where you end up. “The current head of our department started with the city when she was 16 years old and now she’s the Planning and Zoning manager,” she said.
After lunch, the final stop of the day for some Simmons students was Patterson Companies, that transport perishable and nonperishable goods for customers.
In all, 32 high schools, career academies and exceptional schools in eight communities will participate in more than half a dozen business tours throughout January and February. “Each community has their own day of Business Tours so we are able to showcase local, accessible jobs while also reinforcing the sense of community in each part of our county by joint efforts of our many partners like EDC’s, Chambers, CDC’s and other unique to each area,” said FCA CEO Yvonne Fry.
She considers Friday’s event a resounding success. Some students have already emailed multiple employers in the hope of securing a job. Fry also received texts from principals that students expressed to them excitement and hope they have for their future. “I think my favorite quote from a student to me on Friday was that they had no idea how great this town was and what all they could do here,” said Fry.
She was happy students could learn something she already knew: this community is amazing. “This all started and continues and is successful because so many people in Plant City care about our community and also about our kids,” she said. “Our town showed up for these young adults in a big way. For most, it was the first time that they have experienced anything like this. People made time for them, showed them life-changing opportunities, encouraged them and believed in them. That will change the trajectory of many lives.”
For more information about Future Career Academy visit thefuturecareeracademy.com.