Massapequa High School students have been gaining valuable insight into prospective careers through job shadowing programs.
A dozen students are taking part in the ACE Mentor Program of Greater New York, which runs from October through May. They get to explore careers in the design and construction industry with other interested high school students at professional offices in the region.
The program is free and participants receive industry mentorship that prepares them for college or careers. No prior knowledge of the industry is required, and there are scholarship and internship opportunities. Each team visits active construction sites and creates a mock design project which they present to industry leaders. Students develop communication and technical skills, and are trained on industry-standard software.
Junior George Almiroudis is learning about architecture as part of a team with H2M Architects and Engineers. For the mock project, his group is developing a small golf center and athletic complex that would replace a country club. He goes to H2M’s Melville office once a week and the experience has helped define his post-high school plans.
“It gives me insight into the architecture field and an opportunity to experience that world,” George said.
Students from Massapequa High School’s Architectural Drawing classes, taught by Matthew Swanson, have also visited H2M’s office for job shadowing. There was a field trip for juniors and seniors in the fall, followed by a trip for freshmen and sophomores in March. They were joined by peers from other high schools.
Each program began with a large group meeting, during which students listened to professionals in the field and asked questions. They were then split into small groups to shadow an architect or engineer, and participate in team-building activities. During those small-group sessions, students were able to have conversations with the professionals about their day-to-day work.
“It was really educational,” sophomore Brooke McGovern said, who said it was eye-opening how many specific jobs there are within the broader field of engineering.
Zaid Balic said the job shadowing trip was a great way to gain real-world experience while still in high school and understand what daily life is like in the profession.
Mr. Swanson added that Massapequa High School’s architecture students use the same software as the professionals at H2M, so they are already gaining meaningful skills for a future career.