BEHS job shadow program: More than meets the eye

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Ashley Nicole Taylor
  • 354th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska --  Ben Eielson High School students continue with another year of up-close looks at various careers the Air Force has to offer, via a job shadow program at Eielson.

The job shadow program is a three-part assignment for an academically-motivating class designed to highlight numerous U.S. Air Force careers, giving students of BEHS the opportunity to view work centers around base to check out what goes on a day-to-day basis.

"This program started a couple of years ago to give students an actual idea of the ins-and-outs of a job," said George Cromer, the 354th Force Support Squadron school liaison officer. "The ultimate goal is for the student to get a better idea of whether or not they want to pursue that specific job they shadow."

Students were allowed the opportunity to shadow three out of more than 20 career fields offered around base as part of the course requirement.

"This is a really unique program that we have here and it combines two of our strengths," said Col. Larry Rice, the 354th Mission Support Group commander. "The first is our great schools and innovative leadership and the second is spirit in our Airmen who are willing to expose young folks to the details of what we do."

The first series of job shadows began at the same time as RED FLAG-Alaska 15-1, allowing students to see the busy side of most jobs.

"It's a positive thing for these students to see the business end of our operations," said Chief Master Sgt. James McNeer, 354th MSG superintendent. "When the going gets tough and we're at our busiest, that's when we're at our best and it's a chance for our Airmen to show these students their absolute top capabilities."

A total of 17 students received an inside look at the career of their choice including Lyndcie Carter, a 9th grader at BEHS, who shadowed Airmen from the 354th Fighter Wing legal office for her first week of the program.

"I thought this would be more like TV, but it's actually harder than I thought," said Carter. "I've always been interested in law and was surprised that the military had their own system, but after seeing it first-hand this is definitely something I want to do."

Staying open-minded about a career choice is another aspect of what the program strives to do, such as for David Garreo, a 9th grader at BEHS, who shadowed the 354th Security Forces Squadron military working dog handlers on his first job shadow.

"This was definitely a fun experience, but I still don't know what I want," said Garreo. "I would recommend this class to other people though because it was a good experience to see what I want out of life. After all, high school is just a small part of it."

Although the program has grown and made improvements throughout the years, both the school and military leadership expressed their hope to see it grow to best benefit the students.

"My goal is to make things more available, have more things that appeal to as many students as possible and have as many Airmen available as possible," said McNeer. "Part of our responsibility as military members in a military community is to be involved, and a program such as this is a great chance to give back."