Spherion Mid-Ohio partners with ACWHCC on career exploration project

Article originally published by Ashland Source, December 15th, 2020

Emily Eikelberry displays her gift card.

ASHLAND -- So many activities have come to a screeching halt way back in March, when the pandemic began.

Dessert sushi, rainbow colored hair, tire-changing lessons, nail pounding contests, bomb squad dogs, anatomy, first aid kits, unique graphic designs, computer coding, homemade play doh, snuggles with Cuddles the Iguana, Nexus the snake, and Izzy the ferret ... all these experiences ended just a week before Girls with Goggles 2020.

The sea of sweet 6th-grade faces would not grace the Commons at Ashland County West Holmes Career Center.

Emma Oxenrider, Ella White, Jocelyn Turner and Lilly Stuck are shown here with their gift cards.

Purple backpacks, lavender t-shirts, tape measures, goggles, and a host of other items were delivered to the girls in October, but the school didn't want them to miss out entirely on the experience of learning more about the Career Center and the value of career tech and hands-on learning.

So, Spherion Mid-Ohio stepped in with career exploration activities the girls could do at home. All the girls had the opportunity to watch videos about interviewing, explore the Career Center program pages, and tell the school which program they liked best and why.

But Spherion didn't stop there. The company provided 10- $25 gift cards and 3- $50 gift cards. All girls who completed and submitted the activity page were entered into a drawing for the $25 gift cards.

Then came the "extra credit." Girls could submit a photo of themselves doing a job or responsibility around the house, volunteering, or even doing a hobby along with a couple of sentences to tell about the activity. All the girls who completed the "extra credit" were entered in a drawing for the $50 cards.

The girls had until Nov. 30 to submit their activities, so this week, the winners were drawn and are featured in the photos with this story.