DINSMORE - Students at Dinsmore Composite School got a taste of many options in the career field after their days as a Wildcat come to an end.
On Thursday, April 17, just before the school was about to head off on a week-long spring break, DCS held a unique Kids Convention, where experts came in and volunteered their time and knowledge in showing students the interesting side of over two dozen careers and activities, exposing them to a number of different options that may interest them one day.
The daylong event featured a total of 27 presenters who hosted a wide variety of sessions for students to choose from. These included:
• Baseball Skills – Aaron Bourassa
• Cattle Ranching – Bonnie Simonson
• Coin Collecting – Cliff & Rod Beattie
• Conservation Officers – Les Ellis & Scott Andrew
• Construction – Russel Billett
• Electrician – Lorne Bellisle
• Esthetics – Cheyenne Christiansen
• Glass Blowing – Donna McNeely
• Guitar & Music – Evan Baxter
• Hockey & Fitness – Jaydon Jessiman
• Indigenous Art – Brie Phillips
• Instant Pot Recipes – Joline Watt
• Journaling – Dawn Thomson
• Journalism – Derek Ruttle
• Lego & Games – Yvonne Jackson & Dawn Thomson
• Mindfulness – Megan Crofts
• Photography – Eli Dingle
• Pickleball – Sue & Joe Lytle
• Post Graduation Advice – Pia Sol & Abby Friesen
• Story & Craft – Judy Adair
• Taekwondo – Brent Rafoss
• Vision Boards & Card Making – Megan Keeler
• Yoga – Jennifer Davey
Organized by staff members Chelsea Billett, Tracey Walzak, and Megan Keeler, a number of fellow DCS staff helped along the way in showcasing the importance of the inaugural event, and snacks were provided by Karla Duchesne and the Grade 9/10 class in Outlook.
This reporter was a part of the volunteer career crew, offering kids an opportunity to learn about the news and media industry with two afternoon sessions entitled, "Online Journalism: Storytelling in the Digital Age". In these discussions with Dinsmore students, I spoke on the level of the impact that social media has on today's news world and stressed the importance of impartiality on the part of journalists, particularly in a world where perhaps too many are choosing sides when the position of news media is intended to be squarely on the fence, looking at and presenting all sides.
I also had the students create and write their own news articles and taught them that using the standard W5 formula helps along the way, providing prospective readers with the Who, What, When, Where, and Why of their stories to assist in presenting the full picture.
Many thanks to students Sadie Noonan, Macey Edstrom, Dezarae Jordan, Charity Pajunen, Sam Ellis, Archer McBain, Sidney Keeler, and Wyatt Tully for spending the afternoon with yours truly. I was impressed by the insight of these students and the skills that they showed in crafting their own news articles. The local news scene will be just fine when this reporter calls it a career and one of these students steps up and takes the reins!
Students are now enjoying their spring break for the week, but the impact of the convention may have left more than a few of them with some thoughts about what career directions they'd like to pursue in life.
