High school student chooses Sentinel for OJT

In cooperation with Wrangell High School’s on-the-job training (OJT) program, the Sentinel has a new addition to its staff.

On Tuesday, high school junior Alex Angerman was introduced to the newspaper’s office. In the coming months she will get firsthand experience there with the different aspects of the business.

“It ties into my interest in writing,” Angerman explained. “When I was in elementary school I’d write fiction a lot.” Later, in middle and high school, she began to take an interest in journalism. “I’ve always liked current events and the thought of going out and finding out things,” she said.

To that end, Angerman participated in University of Alaska Southeast’s dual enrollment program, which allows students to take university courses for college credit. She is taking her second journalism course this semester, “Methods of Written Communication.”

“I wanted to challenge myself, so the only way I could challenge myself is to take college courses,” Angerman explained. She also intends to start up a student newspaper next year as her senior project, using the skills she is picking up through her studies.

The high school’s OJT is a long-standing job shadow program. Program advisor Lisa Nikodym explained it gives students a chance to learn new skills in a workplace setting, while also getting to use those being learned in school in a real-world environment.

“These kids get to explore careers and actually get that hands-on experience,” she said. While students get to check out potential professions, they also have the opportunity to identify new interests and gain some direction in their academic studies.

Students between their sophomore and senior years are able to enroll in OJT provided they have passed a prerequisite job skills class. That class presents important workplace norms and values like punctuality, responsibility and being able to follow directions.

Seventeen students are enrolled in this year’s program. While Angerman is able to pursue an interest in journalism, her peers are similarly exploring fields such as education, medicine, emergency services and restauranteering. In the past, Nikodym said students have also involved themselves with civil agencies, ministerial pursuits and even aviation.