High school students have lunch with local employers

Eagle Grove High School teacher Sherry Leksell organized a Career Lunch that was held last Thursday, and featured a class of juniors and an impressive list of both area business people and other professionals. It allowed the students to rub shoulders with these employers and sharpen their skills in preparation for entering the working world at a future point.

“I have 23 college-bound juniors who have taken Advanced English, and have spent this spring working to develop their career skills,” said Leksell. “We started out with a basic job application, and they did some research about their future careers. They learned to tie ties, shake hands and write thank-you notes. We have also studied non-verbal communication and the role it plays in business. We’ve examined behavioral interview questions and then fine-tuned student’s interviewing skills.”

Leksell then had them ready to practice interviews. “We started with peer-to-peer mock job interviews, followed by practicing with teachers and finally a mock interview in front of the class with employers in the future jobs they want,” said Leksell. “They’ve studied etiquette, and will have a chance to practice small talk, share what they’ve learned and network with people in the community.” The unit will end with students working on scholarship essays that they will use as they begin their senior year next fall.

Everyone enjoyed a lunch of lasagna, salad and dessert, which was prepared and served by students from Lisa Tapper’s Family & Consumer Science class. The students then divided up at the tables of the people they were most interested in talking to, sharing both lunch and conversation with them. Afterward, some of the students shared their thoughts on how it went for them.

“It was nice,” said Britney Lukes. “It was fun to talk to them about what they do and hear their experiences.”

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