Students prepare for life after school

Despite the turn-table economy with omens of hard times trumpeting from the television, the Plains chapter of Jobs for Montana’s Graduates Program is looking hopefully into the future.

Last Thursday, the group met to induct its newest recruits to the program, award certificates for participation and officially appoint leadership roles within the association.

The program that has been actively preparing seniors for college, military or the work force since 1990.

According to the state JMG Web site, the organization reports that it “has positively affected over 8,000 students since its inception by providing them with the motivation and skills they need to complete high school and become productive citizens.”

School Counselor Betty Taylor and the high school business teacher Annawyn Griffin are the two career specialists who are in charge of administrating the program. Both say they know that the program works simply because of the great change they see in the students who participate in the program.

“It’s been a very successful program,” Taylor said who had been working as a career specialist in the program for the last 18 years. Taylor said that she thinks that the program challenges the students in positive ways to be better for prepared for the future.

“We really like to build self-esteem in unfamiliar areas and we really work on expanding our students comfort levels,” she said.

Griffin has been working as a career specialist in the program for the past three years and said that, ultimately, their objective as an association is to get kids involved and to instill solid work skills for their future in the work force.

“One hundred percent placement would be our biggest success and goal,” she said.

To do this, Griffin said that the program has students working on 37 different employability skills and that grades in the association will be based upon daily assignments, journal entries, community service and the development within competitive events such as public speaking, interviews and life math skills to name a few.

Taylor said that the students will even have to treat each day as a work day and if they are going to be absent they must call in before 8 a.m. of the next day or their grade will be docked. Assignment deadlines are also going to be a significant determinant in grading process.

“We really want the students to understand time management,” Taylor said. “People aren’t going to tolerate missing deadlines in the workforce.”

Despite the tough challenges to raise the bar, Bambi Erving, the group’s newest journalism coordinator, is looking forward to the road ahead because of the elevating boost it will her in her work and study skills. “By using time management skills and accountability skills we can improve our future careers,” she said.

Erving also said that another driving factor for her was the outpouring of support she sees from her family and from the community.

Chelsea Roosma, the groups social coordinator, said that she looked forward to the program because it would have a good influence on her and her fellow classmates to do more than simply be informed about opportunities but also to be actively involved in them.

“I love to help and direct and make things fun for everyone, we ourselves and our classmates to be more than just another face in the crowd when it comes our future,” she said.

The new JMG inductees for 2008-2009 are as follows: President Cynthia McCrea, secretary/treasurer Lydia Shaw, social coordinator Chelsea Roosma, civic coordinator Emily Morigeau, career coordinator Keaton Jones, leadership coordinator Carlo Pierini, Alex Allestad, Darla Best, Levi Clouse, Nate Defa, Bambi Erving, Valin Heward, Dakota Killgore, Thad LeClair, Kelli Nance, Robert Person, Karlyann Ryan, Kyle Steinebach, and Tyler Welty.

More information can be found at the JMG Web site at http://montana.jag.org/