Preparing for life beyond high school

Seniors participate in Mock Interview Day
By: 
Miriam Nelson
mnelson@newmedia-wi.com

It’s a big broad world of gainful employment, and the seniors at Wittenberg-Birnamwood High School have been preparing to join it by participating in mock interviews.

Thanks to the help of several area businesses and post-secondary schools, seniors were able to practice their skills and get valuable feedback during the mandatory Mock Interview Day on Feb. 20.

Principal Jill Sharp said the program was proposed by guidance counselor Stephanie Gruber and Nancy Resch, district assessment coordinator, after being discussed off and on for about seven years by the school’s Learning Council, a group of teachers that helps evaluate and improve school programs.

“We continue to have discussions about post-secondary preparations and experiences that help all students be ready beyond high school,” Gruber said.

Gruber and Resch, whose duties include organizing career-planning events and field trips, prepared the students for the interviews and made sure they had cover letters and resumes. They also prepared a list of questions for the participating businesses.

Businesses were also encouraged to ask questions specific to their own businesses if they were considering officially interviewing the student.
Jerrod Kibbel, who works in family care research and engineering at Kimberly Clark Corporation, Neenah, was glad to participate.

Kibbel said his company hires a lot of graduates from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, “and a lot of Witt-Birn students go there, so it just made sense to be a part of this event.”

The interviews were held on the same day that other students were taking the ACT exam. Administrators wanted to make the ACT exam day less disruptive while providing other grade levels with important learning experiences, Sharp said.

The Learning Council felt that exposure to post-secondary institutions such as technical colleges and universities would be a great thing to do on ACT testing day as students taking the exam would be off-site, she explained. It also provided more rooms for the interviews.

“Certainly the mock interviews are part of our overall goals for academic and career planning,” Sharp said.

The feedback from the businesses and the students was positive, according to Resch, and plans are being made to make the Mock Interview Day an annual event.