NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — What do you want to be when you grow up? That's a question kids get asked all the time. For some their path may require a college degree, but there are ways to make a substantial income without that.
An outreach effort raising awareness for vocational training is making stops at some Tennessee schools this week.
"It's hands-on, upfront, close, and personal. Letting them touch and feel what it looks like," Kanetha Callahan, Community Achieve Site Coordinator at Margaret Allen Middle School.
At Margaret Allen Middle School Thursday, the learning wasn't limited to the building and there may have been some major "ah-ha" moments in the parking lot.
"We're just trying to expose our students now in middle school to what it's like to be in the workforce," Callahan said.
Welding, construction, truck driving, and more; Kids got to try their hand at more than 27 different careers, using high-tech computer-aided demonstration models.
Eighth-grade student Daniel Santo gave welding a try. He's not planning on going the non-college route. "I'll probably be a molecular biologist," Santo said.
However, trades are an option for him and many others. "I like how it (the welding demonstration wand) just felt in my hand," Santo said.
All of these experiences were part of the Be Pro Be Proud Bus visiting the school.
It's a traveling outreach effort from the TN Chamber of Commerce and sponsors like Nissan.
"It gives them the opportunity to think outside the box and think on a different level," said Margaret Steele, director of philanthropy for Nissan.
Alison Lewis travels with the bus throughout the year. "That's what really keeps us on the road doing this because we love encouraging students and giving them a pathway," Lewis said.
According to Lewis, some of these jobs like a CDL driver can mean substantial pay. "They can make between $100,00 and $200,000 a year," Lewis said.
Future wages may not be top of mind for teenagers. However, it is not a bad way, to spend some time, during a school day.
"I'm moving the dirt and putting it on the truck," said Barakat Koko, a student a Margaret Allen Middle School. "This is a lot more fun than a video game."
It may even be the start of a lifelong journey in the trades.
For more information about the Be Pro Be Proud bus click here.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at robb.coles@newschannel5.com.
Fundraising efforts are underway in Brownsville and Nutbush, TN to build a statue for a major superstar who was raised there, Anna Mae Bullock. You probably know her by her stage name, Tina Turner. I was a huge fan of Tina and glad to see efforts are underway to showcase more of her ties to West Tennessee.
-Lelan Statom
