Pierce Jr./Sr. High Students Attend Day Career Camp
by Kaelee Stuchlik
May 01, 2008
The annual Expanding Your Horizons career event in Bellevue was a hit once again this year for the selected Pierce Junior/Senior High School students who attended. On Friday, April 18, fourteen girls from Pierce High traveled to Bellevue University to become educated on various math and science careers. They received information on a variety of jobs that are in high demand and some jobs that are not very well-known.
The sponsor for the Expanding Your Horizons event was Pierce High’s guidance counselor Mrs. Mary Birch. The event was hosted by Bellevue University. About fifty women from a variety of math and science careers volunteered their time and shared their knowledge with the girls who were in attendance at the day camp.
The Expanding Your Horizons event is a female-only event that girls from around Nebraska attend. Pierce had twelve junior high students attend and two senior high students. The Pierce seventh graders were Lacie Davis, Devin Gnat, Lexy Nuesch, Hope Pedersen, Emily Ronspies, and Rachael Wiedenfeld, and the eighth graders were Brooke Guenther, Morgan Hoferer, Tori Pospisil, Ellie Pytleski, Timaree Reed, and Payton Wragge. Freshmen Alyissa Milne and Allison Thun also attended the day camp in Bellevue.
The itinerary for the day included an early departure from Pierce. The girls were served a light breakfast and listened to a presentation by the main speaker, Naida Loskutoff, PhD, a molecular geneticist from the Henry Doorly Zoo, who works with scientists from around the world to save endangered species. Each girl then attended a hands-on workshop, a career panel, and a large group forum presentation. At the conclusion of the day, the girls gathered in the theater at Bellevue University to receive a closing presentation, and then they departed for Pierce.
Mrs. Birch was pleased with the career camp again this year. She said, “I really like the Expanding Your Horizons program. It’s about women helping young girls sort out their ideas on careers and giving them new ideas to think about.”
Seventh grader Emily Ronspies enjoyed her day in Bellevue. “It was a lot of fun and I learned a lot,” Ronspies said.
