Student helps rebuild
lives in community,
as well as his own
Dylan Sheffield, a senior at Itawamba Agricultural School, never knew when he was going to get the call, but when he did he was ready.
“This program has taught him self confidence, motivation, excellence on the job, and that sometimes it doesn’t matter if you get paid or not, the quality of work is the most important,” Holland said. “I believe the loyalty we teach through internships and job shadowing also is very important to a future law enforcement officer.”
Sheffield was one of first on the scene to respond after an F5 tornado devastated the Smithville community and the lives of its residents. Clocking wind speeds up to 318 miles-per-hour, weather experts announced the tornado to be one of the most intense “The leadership to hit Mississippi in 60 years. Sheffield used his first responder skills he learned from Lori Holland’s Career and Technical Education (CTE) class to provide first aid to people who survived the deadly storm.
and first aid skills I learned in my CTE class definitely prepared me to react quickly to help victims of the storm,” Sheffield said.
“The leadership and first aid skills I learned in my CTE class definitely prepared me to react quickly to help victims of the storm,” Sheffield said. “Through job shadowing, I’ve learned that I want to be in law enforcement or work for the fire department. The job shadowing, college and career planning, and my future apprenticeship with the Fulton Police Department are all opportunities that were arranged because I was in Ms. Holland’s CTE class. Because of this program, I have a plan for reaching my goals.” Sheffield plans to attend Itawamba Community College this fall and then the police academy because Holland adopted the Career Pathways Experience (CPE) program into the high school curricula.
Connections Spring 2011
The CPE program is part of a national movement toward organizing education around clusters of study. Each area of study focuses on a different career area. By combining rigorous academics with career education, the goal is to help students tailor their education towards the career path they choose.
“I believe in CPE because it offers many more educational and career opportunities for students in my program,” Holland stated. “As many people as possible should have the opportunity to enroll in a career and technical education class, especially in Career Pathways because it helps students focus on academics, proves to them how they’re applied, and why they’re important.” Between classes, school activities, and studying, students in Holland’s CPE program have led a donation drive to help the Smithville survivors. To date, they have collected a trailer full of items and have given them to their neighbors to help them rebuild their lives, something the students themselves are preparing to do after high school graduation.
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