Fourth and fifth-grade students packed Harlingen Consolidated Independent School District’s Administration Building as they visited the Technology Center on Thursday, April 14.
Bonham Elementary students took an inventory assessment earlier this year that helped the counseling department discover the different career interests the students had. Out of all fourth and fifth-grade students who took the survey, 90 students showed interest in computer technology.
After reviewing the results Claudia Panuelas, a counselor at Bonham, decided to organize a trip to visit the technology offices.
“Mrs. Penuelas told me about the survey results and asked if it would be okay if she brought her students over,” says Technology Director, James Pearcy. “The students wanted to see what exactly we were doing in the office. They also requested to look at some of the equipment we use and see the actual environment that we work in.”
Students had the opportunity to ask questions as they were introduced to technology staff and toured the network operations center.
“They still have their career week at school, but we wanted to expose the fourth and fifth graders to more. They get more out of visiting the work site instead of having just somebody talk to them,” says Penuelas. “They come up with more questions and get more information when they are actually onsite.”
Pearcy talked to them about the different levels of degrees needed to obtain jobs in the technology office and encouraged students to graduate high school, go to college and seek jobs in the technology field.
“Today I learned that there is more to technology than just the Internet, There’s also hardware and software.” says fifth-grade student Nathan Martinez. “I like technology because it is constantly growing and the possibilities are endless. When I graduate, I want to be a video game designer or animator.”
