Study says: Genesee Community College is tops in technical training
Genesee Community College ranked first among 27 SUNY community colleges for a wide range of tech services. To read more see page 5.
Excellence in Education Excellence in Financial & Professional Services....Page 9 February 22, 2012
family vacation: Visit the CNY RV Show March 1-4 at the New York State Fairgrounds.
“There’s a huge variety of models in every price range.”
looking ahead:
On Feb. 29, read about Excellence in CNY and Madison County business.
To read more see page 9.
2012excellence A supplement to Eagle Newspapers
Taking a peek at the future Cazenovia eighth-graders explore preferred careers
Pierce Smith
By Jennifer Wing
Help, resources available for CNY high school students
It’s a rite of passage – graduation from high school. A milestone. A first step on the road to becoming a successful part of the workforce. So, where to go from here? For many, the obvious answer is college, the military or a trade school. Most likely, if the choice is college, the applications have already been filled out and accepted or rejected, with the choice of institution weighed utilizing many factors: the student’s study path, distance from home, school reputation, cost, etc. All done, right? Not really, according to a recent study. A 2010 report released by the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce discussed the widening gap between job openings and the number of people who have the degree and/or training to fill them. “Help Wanted: Projections of Jobs and Education Requirements Through 2018,” said students should align their college choices with
fields that have a higher demand for employees in order to be successful. This is something with which Peter DeFazio, guidance counselor at Liverpool High School, is familiar, and he stresses the importance of discussing the viability of many majors in the workplace. “In terms of marketability, we get a lot of good information from the admissions people that meet with our students,” DeFazio said. “When the students are in the phases of deciding upon what school they want to attend and what course of study they want to pursue, we are lucky to have at least 100 admissions [officers] visit Liverpool and Cicero-North Syracuse high schools to speak directly with the students, and part of what they talk about is the marketability of majors.” For instance, DeFazio said they now know that engineering has “been a very popular college major in the past several years, so now there
AutoInsure Direct
Personal & Commercial Insurance
463-1990
1301 Burnet Avenue
2 Convenient Locations...
is a saturation of engineering students pursuing that degree.” He added that the volume of students graduating with an engineering degree will most likely make it more difficult to find a job in that field. So, what does DeFazio feel is a good field to pursue? “Nursing is very hot,” he said. “Right now, they are looking for people desperately. We are given information about that field and what we do as counselors is impart that information to students as part of the process.” “We also will talk about the top majors and give students an indication of how marketable their field is,” DeFazio said. There are other tools available to both DeFazio and Erin Deaver, C-NS high school business teacher and career center education coordinator, including the Naviance system (see story, this page.) “Naviance is a computer program that a lot of high schools are using now,” Deaver said. “Guidance counselors set it up to assist students with whole college process — application, col-
See Choices on page 2
By Pierce Smith
With many college students and young adults still struggling to find their professional roles in society, Cazenovia High School counselors Bob Oldfield and Britt Zumpano are giving eighth-graders a jumpstart. Friday, Jan. 6, the counselors began meeting with small groups of students to review their ACT EXPLORE exam results and introduce them to Bridges Career Explorer, an informational career website geared toward young students. “Even if they don’t know what they want to do after
See Cazenovia on page 3
Tool helps Skaneateles students track achievements By Jason Emerson After a successful pilot year in 2010-11, the Skaneateles High School soon will return to training its students on Naviance, a new web-guidance tool that allows them to electronically keep track of all curricular and extra-curricular activities and achievements, prepare a resume and college application and even research potential colleges they may want to attend. The system is convenient, straightforward, can be accessed by parents and, most importantly, is the wave of the future.
See Skaneateles on page 5
The Archer Insurance Agency
17309
Choices now can determine career marketability later
Bob Oldfield, left, walks a group of 11 eighth-graders through the Bridges Career Explorer website on Friday, Jan. 6. Students are able to access the site whenever and wherever they want, allowing them to learn about thousands of possible career paths.
Auto - Cycle - Home Trucks - Business
471-0992
805 South Geddes St.
...See Our Story Inside!