Every year Job Corps centers around the country set up job shadows for students during the first week of February. The idea builds off the idea of the groundhog seeing its shadow, but instead of students determining whether or not spring is coming, they instead can shadow people in careers they may be interested in to learn more about those jobs.

This year a student from each of Springdale Job Corps Center’s 5 trades was nominated to shadow someone who has worked their way up to a high level of responsibility in their field of study. For example, Office Administration student Bianca Mendoza shadowed Karen Nootenboom, the office manager in Senator Wyden’s (D-OR) district office. Bianca handled all the mail coming in to the office that day, spoke to office staff about the kinds of phone calls they field, and learned what it was like to work in a busy office like the senator’s. Bianca learned a lot while she was shadowing Karen. “It was so exciting! I sent mail to Washington, D.C. and I got to ask Karen about how she came to work there.”

Veronica Primero in Protective Services spent the day with the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Department River Patrol Office on the Columbia River. While the weather meant there weren’t a lot of boaters out, Veronica did learn about the day-to-day duties of a sheriff’s deputy. “A lot of what they do is what I expected,” she shared. “They fill out reports and make sure things are done safely on the river.”

CNA student Ricky Faircloth spent the day shadowing a policy analyst at the Oregon State Board of Nursing (OSBN). The OSBN oversees all nursing programs in the state and makes sure they are compliant with regulations. Ricky was able to observe the Nursing Education Advisory Group meeting and see the ins and outs of determining how rules are enforced for the education programs. “I got a lot out of being there,” said Ricky. “So much happens behind the scenes to make sure every program is teaching the same things.”

Business & Community Liaison Anna Snyder was excited to set up the unique opportunities for the students. “I spent a lot of time driving students to their sites, but it was absolutely worth it. Every student enjoyed their time at their job shadow and they all came away with an idea of where they training could take them,” she said. “Ultimately that’s the goal of the Job Shadow week; to expose students to a broad spectrum of career options available to them after they complete their training. I’m happy to be a part of it.”