Students See Howit’s Done (NAPSA)—Manyof today’s children do a different kind of schoolwork than some might expect. For example, Natalie is a 12-year-old student who helps deliver the news at a local TV station and Josh, still in high school, works as an accountant. Both are on the job—just for one day—as part of job shadowing, a nationwide initiative that pairs students with career mentors. Each year more than one million children participate in the initiative (kicked off every Groundhog’s Day). The program,called Groundhog Job Shadow Day, is meant to provide children with an up-close look at how skills learned in school are put to use in the workplace. The program, started in 1998, has had great success stories: As a result of their on-air shadowingat a local radio station, three Washington state students have landed jobs as DJs. Forty students went to the Boeing Company where they were treated like new employees. They saw exactly what their first day would be like if they were hired by a huge, internationalfirm. More than 100,000 employers participated in 2001, including A national program encourages young people to “job shadow” someone in a profession that interests them. Students have shadowed such notables as former President George Bush, Secretary of State Colin Powell, Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura, Miss America 2001 Angela Baroquio, and Today Show personality Katie Couric. An agreement with Monster.com lets children who are unable to shadow at a workplace “virtual job shadow.” Virtual shadows can chat with professionals, shadow them online, and explore what career options fit their interests and their personalities. Job Shadowingis an effort of the Shadow Coalition—made up of America’s Promise, Junior Achieve- Airlines, The Gap, The American Red Cross, The American Hotel and Motel Association, U.S. Coast ment, the Society for Human Resource Management, and school to work partnerships—and sponsored by Monster.com and News Corporation. Defense. www.jobshadow.org. Monster.com, News Corporation, Wal-Mart, Home Depot, United Guard, and the U.S. Departmentof For more information visit
