North Marion Middle School Students Explore the Wonders of the Working World

By Jillian Daley

North Marion Middle School (NMMS) AVID students dove into an examination of potential careers this past month, connecting with organizations in key local industries — agricultural processes and research, engineering, and nonprofit outreach — and meeting the people who keep these workplaces humming.

“The students are really excited about these opportunities,” NMMS AVID Teacher Chelsea Landry explains. “It’s a big deal for them to be exposed to these big-scale industries that employ so many people in our area.”

Students studied potential future careers, then they went out to discover what’s possible. On Nov. 5, the AVID students swung by The Salvation Army Kroc Center in Salem, and on Nov. 16, the seventh-graders stopped by two sites in Aurora, Oregon Flowers Inc., a grower that sells flowers to wholesalers, and Oregon State University North Willamette Research and Extension Center (NWREC), which provides educational workshops and activities and executes agricultural research. Guest speakers came by in November, including a visitor from engineering/manufacturing company G.K. Machine of Donald. Plus, this connection to the working world will continue throughout the school year.

“It’s super helpful for kids to see the real-life paths that they could go to if they don’t see something that they’re engaged in in their everyday life, so they have that opportunity to dream,” says NWREC Assistant Professor-Extension Specialist of Vegetable and Specialty Seed Crops Kristie Buckland, PhD, also a North Marion School Board Director and a local parent. “It’s more impactful to see it in person than to read it in a book. There’s a real-life person who is doing what they want to do. We need more of that.”

Oregon Flowers Inc. Vice President and COO Tyler Meskers teaches students all about greenhouses that simulate the progression of the seasons, allowing plants to thrive. Photo courtesy of Bill Graupp

AVID-ly Seeking Opportunities

This series of career-related activities is possible because NMMS became an AVID school this year. AVID, which stands for Advancement Via Individual Determination, offers both school-wide resources and an elective class for students seeking to fulfill their full potential using AVID learning strategies. One of the strategies for that class has been providing students with the opportunity to explore potential careers through field trips and guest speaker visits.

“Part of AVID is discovering new things,” seventh-grader Maty Bufton explains. 

Landry notes that this September students participated in a rope course in Salem, gaining confidence and team skills.

“AVID is all about empowering the students,” Landry says.

Students say the class keeps them engaged. 

Seventh-grade AVID student Katelyn Buchnoff says that “hands down, it’s one of my favorite classes.” sharing her honest and positive take on AVID. 

“It just has this great environment to it,” Katelyn says. “Mrs. Landry is great. She has this amazing energy. She’s genuinely an amazing teacher. She’s really fun. The class is amazing — even the boring parts like taking notes.”

While the career-related field trips AVID has brought to life this year are not unusual, they are less common for a classroom of middle schoolers.

School Board Director Bill Graupp says that these are the same types of trips that he usually plans with the students in a career and tech group, FBLA, at North Marion High School. These young students are already absorbing a great deal from the experience.

Seventh-grader Trenton Righter says he particularly relished visiting The Kroc Center, a community center. He says that, while the climbing wall was a blast, the most compelling aspect of the visit was the organization that runs it, The Salvation Army. The organization not only provides the community with educational and recreational activities, but also homeless shelters and housing assistance.

“It’s cool how they go around helping people out in the cold who are in need,” Trenton explains.

Students all mentioned The Kroc Center, especially the presentation by Director of Communications and Marketing Director Adam McGuffie. McGuffie demonstrated an instrumental part of his work, interviewing Landry as an AVID teacher and then transforming the conversation into a polished video package.

“There were a lot of moments that stood out, including the interview,” Katelyn says. “I’ve always found media really interesting. It was really cool seeing the final product.”

Seeing Red

Trenton says another highpoint included a drone with infrared (IR) technology that Buckland used during her presentation at NWREC. The drone’s IR camera is designed to view the world by its heat levels, making animals (including warm-blooded rabbits or cold-blooded insects) stand out among the bloodless chill of the crops, helping the scientists maintain healthy plants. But, this time, the camera also detected Graupp.

“Kristie [Buckland] turned on the drone and she turned on the IR camera, so everyone could see me in red on the infrared monitor!” Graupp recalls.

The speaker who presented just before Buckland during the visit to NWREC, Orchard Crops Faculty Research Assistant Heather Andrews, explained that learning about insects is critical to agriculture. The students also checked out the equipment with NWREC Farm Assistant Derek Wells and Bio Science Research Tech Joe Battilega.

Buckland says that, when she and Andrews spoke, the students were eerily polite.

“They were a great group, super respectful,” Buckland notes. “They seemed honestly interested in careers: How do you do this? How do you get to this point?”

The students were so quiet, she was a little worried they hadn’t liked the presentation, but it seems they were just on their best behavior.

“Afterward, Bill [Graupp] said they got on the bus and were super excited,” Buckland says.

Trenton says the drone’s ability to capture heat signatures struck him as a particularly exciting way to determine whether a plant needs attention. However, for the seventh-grader, the best part was discovering he could participate in tractor training as soon as age 14. Trenton also got a kick out of Oregon Flowers, roaming through the greenhouses that simulated the progression of the seasons, allowing plants to flourish in a controlled environment. 

The area professionals who stepped into Landry’s AVID classroom this past November as guest speakers included: Director of Communications and Marketing Director Connie Lindsay from G.K. Machine, whose friendly presentation moved the students and came about with the support of Willamette Extension Service Career Specialists Brant Cheeley, Landry notes.

Landry says that Graupp has been incredibly supportive of the AVID students, helping to arrange the visit at NWREC and Oregon Flowers.

Graupp says that multiple trips and speakers are critical to giving students a broad perspective.

“We’re not planting a seed for a specific thing,” Graupp says. “What we’re showing them is there are lots of opportunities, and they just need to choose a path forward that’s positive.”

What’s next? Landry says that her students will continue to enjoy guest speakers and field trips “throughout the year that expose them to different careers.” Starker Forests Forester and Outreach Manager Jennifer Beathe is next on the agenda in January. And there’s so much more to come!

“Next up is a unit on colleges and where students want to go, based on where they have strong programs in the careers that they might be interested in and want to pursue,” Landry says. “We will do campus tours this spring so that students can see first hand what they are working so hard to accomplish.”

To share your story on the North Marion School District, email Communications Specialist Jillian Daley at jillian.daley@nmarion.k12.or.us.