Central students attend architecture, construction Chew and Chat at Auburn University
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Central students had the opportunity to attend one of the most engaging Chew and Chat trips to date thanks to Auburn University’s College of Architecture Design and Construction (CADC) and Facilities Management departments.
Coosa County Career Tech Center (CCCTC) was recently awarded a $200,000 grant which helped fund February’s Chew and Chat Series in which CCCTC was able to include eighth grade students for the first time. Students were selected for the trip based on their career interest and skills confidence inventories, current enrollment in Career Tech Education programs and career coaching conversations showing interest in a career field related to architecture and construction.
Our students started the day at CADC where Katherine Chastain; recruitment and scholarship manager for the Auburn University College of Architecture, Design and Construction; asked students to look at one of two designs for a community park and identify the pros and cons of the draft they were given. She then asked them to have a member of their working group present the groups’ findings to everyone and answer questions about why the group considered it a pro or con.
Mrs. Chastain then gave each group a layout of a park and asked them to design a park for Coosa County based on three to five things that Coosa is known for and/or does well and three to five things that Coosa County needs. Student groups then had to defend their design just as a CADC student would do for a grade. Mrs. Garrett, Central career coach, said, “Our students knocked it out of the park…no pun intended.”
Following the CADC visit, our students went to the construction site of what will be the College of Education at AU that was offered by Auburn University Facilities Management Division, which is scheduled to open in December 2024. Students were able to witness first hand the variety of trade professionals at work during their tour of the 165,000 square foot building being constructed.
In addition to the construction tour, Hayley White, HR for Auburn University Facilities Management, gave students a tour of the facilities department to give students an idea of the bounty of the things going on behind the scenes to keep Auburn’s campus beautiful and functional.
One department that most people would not think about, but could possibly be one of the busiest places on campus, is the mail room. Every piece of mail that comes to a faculty, staff member, or student is delivered to the mail room where it is sorted and then delivered to the appropriate person. Facilities Management also oversees HVAC systems, lawn care maintenance, the vehicle fleet, plumbing, and oversight of construction projects, just to name a few. With those jobs comes a need for inventory oversight and recruitment and human resource management.
Mrs. White talked with students in depth about the summer job programs and apprenticeships that are offered through AU’s Facilities Management department and encouraged our students to apply for these summer jobs and apprenticeships, as well as for full time positions after graduation if they are interested in this type of work, making sure to explain that once they are an AU employee, they are entitled to AU’s benefits that include tuition savings, insurance, retirement, and paid holidays.
If you are a student who is interested in participating in this jobs program, please contact Mrs. Garrett or Ms. Hamby before the March 15 application deadline so we can include you in the upcoming hiring fair schedule to be given a practice interview by Mrs. White during the April 2 Hiring Day Event.
Thank you to Central High School Career Coach Keslie Garrett for organizing the Chew and Chat trips to expose our students to career opportunities, as well as for sharing pictures and information.
