Group Fuels Eighth Graders’ Excitement for Career and Technical Courses

Eighth graders in bulletproof vests and handcuffs — not something you would see on a typical day at school.

This was the scene on a Tuesday morning last month when SkillsUSA traveled to Hopewell Middle School to promote Career and Technical Education (CTE).

A group of Cambridge students had brought the unusual items to teach the younger kids about the school’s Law and Justice course.

Juniors Amelia Green and Carolyn McLain, who were part of the SkillsUSA group that visited Hopewell on Feb. 28, said they were excited to continue the organization’s legacy.

They said their goal was to encourage eighth graders to take interest in career and technical courses that will be available to them next year, such as Law and Justice.

According to the SkillsUSA website, over 300,000 students are enrolled in CTE classes across the nation.

Green said the kids at Hopewell had a great time.

“The students were really interested in the hands-on stuff we bought because they didn’t know that career and technical education could be fun,” said Green.

The Cambridge students explained to the middle school students what they would learn in a typical Law and Justice course. Many of the eighth graders showed interest in learning about criminal justice and forensics.

“We also made a point to tell the students that career technical courses don’t only include criminal justice,” said McClain. “It also involves business management and engineering.”

The group arrived at the middle school with more than 100 flyers about SkillsUSA and left with none.

“A lot of the kids seemed very excited, and almost all of them took flyers,” said McClain.