By David Rogers. October 26, 2011. BOONE -- Blowing Rock Rotary's annual "Career Day", hosted at the Holmes Convocation Center and coordinated with Watauga County Schools, served more than 375 Watauga County 8th graders from all area schools on Wednesday. It attracted the special attention of leaders from Rotary International's District 7670. Photos by David Rogers.

"There is no finer mission than to excite the minds of young people," Steve Studebaker, New Generations Chair of District 7670 told Blowing Rock News in an exclusive interview yesterday.  "It's all about visualization," the Hendersonville resident said, pointing to the students as they rotated in small groups around 16 stations, each demonstrating various aspects of different occupations, including law enforcement, firefighting, business, healthcare, automotive, cosmetology, culinary arts, construction and technology.

"Kids may drive down the highway with their parents and see a sign in a store window," Studebaker said, "or maybe catch bits of a story on television, but do they really get a chance to understand what it means to be a fireman or policeman, or a chef or a beautitian, or an advertising and marketing specialist, or an auto mechanic, or builder?  By members of the High Country community, from both the public and private sectors, taking the time to spend a day showing these students what it means to serve in their respective occupations, they play critical roles in helping to shape many of these kids' futures, and in a very positive way.  

"Suddenly thinking about a job only a few years down the road," Studebaker explained, "is not some abstract concept, but it's real and tangible.  Many of them will come away from this event with more questions, and that is a good thing.  Many will also think to themselves, 'Wow, that is really interesting or exciting.  I can do that!'"

Studebaker became interested in the Career Day event after Blowing Rock Rotary's Past President and Assistant District Governor Mike Kebelbeck adapted a slide show presentation about Career Day for attendees of the Rotary District 7670 Conference in Knoxville, Tennessee last April. "As important as visualization is for the kids in seeing these occupations," Studebaker observed to Blowing Rock News, "it is equally important for Rotarians.  Many of us have thought about the importance of an event like this and wondered about putting something like it together, not quite knowing how to go about it.  You guys have actually done it, and it provides the rest of us with a visual model to build from and adapt to our own communities."

In preparing the interest-generating Knoxville presentation, Kebelbeck explained, "I took a Powerpoint presentation that Blowing Rock Rotarian, David Rogers (now Editor of Blowing Rock News), created after the first Career Day in the Holmes Center, which was in 2008.  His original slide show consisted of almost 300 wonderful images of captured moments during that year's event. It really told the story, often in a fun way, and it was intended to just sit there on a computer and run continuously.  For the Knoxville presentation, I had a more finite amount of time for the messaging, so with Mr. Rogers' permission I selected several key images to help me tell the story in a more narrative form for the District convention participants.  Afterwards, there was quite a buzz about the event and we are excited that Steve (Studebaker) has come up from Hendersonville this year to get a first hand glimpse of what Career Day is about it, and how we produce it."

The 2011 manifestation of Career Day at the Holmes Center evolved from a Kebelbeck-led committee's vision several years ago.  It was initially staged at the National Guard Armory in Boone, then moved to the Holmes Center in 2008, under the leadership of then Vocational Service chair Howard Williams.  Mr. Williams received assistance in making the right contacts at Appalachian State from Blowing Rock Rotarian and former North Carolina State Representative, Cullie Tarleton.  For the past two years, Blowing Rock board member and Vocational Service chair Mike Capristo has put his indelible organizational stamp on the event.  All of the Rotarian leadership has worked closely with Watauga County Schools' coordinator Larry Ball, a Career Technology instructor at Hardin Park School in Boone, who has been involved with the event every year since it was first planned in 2005.

"We have something like 375 8th graders here," Ball detailed to Blowing Rock News in the Holmes Center on Wednesday, during the event. "They are being exposed to 16 different potential career paths, each presented by faculty from Watauga High Schoool or community business or agency professionals.  They are supported by 50 students from Watauga High school, most of whom were in the shoes of those 8th graders just a few years ago and now they are excelling in their fields, whether in the award-winning automotive program or in the culinary arts group that won state honors and competed at the national level this past year.  And of course, we have between 15 and 20 Blowing Rock Rotarians serving as facilitators, answering questions and making sure the students get around to their next assigned stations. Few community service projects that Rotary takes on can have this big of an impact on so many young people, nor can they have as important of a long-term impact on the community."

Capristo was similarly enthusiastic in reviewing Wednesday's event.  "It is wonderful to see the eyes of these young people light up with discovery, excitement, and interest," the Blowing Rock's Vocational Service chair shared. "Whether they are playing 'Twister' with the business logos over in the marketing booth, or captivated by looking inside a race car, or having their eyes opened about the risk of smoking in looking at the healthcare demonstrations, the students are learning something new, and maybe even something new about themselves. We look forward to this event, each and every year, and REALLY appreciate the help we get from Mr. Ball, Watauga County Schools and, of course, Appalachian State University for making this wonderful facility available to us."

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