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Teach-In exposes kids to variety of career options
By LOGAN D. MABE © St. Petersburg Times, published November 19, 2000 CARROLLWOOD -- The Great American Teach-In was more like the Great American Fly-In at a number of north Hillsborough campuses, as helicopters buzzed from school to school. At Ben Hill Middle School, Tony DeGuspie piloted his U.S. Army Apache attack helicopter onto the middle of the school's track Wednesday morning and the entire student body heard it. "Even all of my deaf students heard it," said Sandi Dunlap, who teaches hearing-impaired students. DeGuspie, a test pilot with the North Carolina Army National Guard, was in town for a show and visited the school as a favor to his sister-in-law, sixth-grade teacher Melissa DeGuspie. Dunlap's students were impressed, their busy hands signing questions. "It was cool, I liked it," eighth-grader Ashley Arnold, who got a chance to sit in the cockpit, said through an interpreter. Did she like it enough to want to be a pilot? "No, I want to be a teacher." At Claywell Elementary, the school's landing pad got a workout throughout the week. On Tuesday, the SkyFox 13 news helicopter visited for the fourth year in a row, even though its pilot, Randy Powers, doesn't have a child at the school, guidance counselor Gerry Nugent said. Then, on Wednesday morning, federal Drug Enforcement Administration agents visited in their helicopter and brought along their drug-sniffing golden retriever for a demonstration. Topping that, on Wednesday afternoon, the Tampa Police Department SWAT team came in their helicopter and rappelled down to the ground. Compared with that, the accountants and nurses had their work cut out for them. But Nugent said the variety of careers is valuable. "What it does is expose them to a variety of choices, or career opportunities," Nugent said. "And it gives them enough information to help them decide possibly a path that they could take pretty early in life. They learn that if you're good at something, there's probably a career out there for that." At Hill, career specialist Margaret Flores got professionals from virtually every walk of life. They included a crime scene technician, a hot air balloonist, a jeweler, a paramedic, a professional baseball player, even a dog trainer. "I think it really puts a spark in them," Flores said. "It exposes them to all these options. It might be something they'd never think of doing." At Sickles High School, despite not having much time to prepare, community specialist Theresa Aucoin said the school had its best turnout ever. "Oh my gosh, it can't go any better than it went," Aucoin said. "I had more speakers (130) this year than I've ever had before." Aucoin said even first-time speakers came away from the experience eager to do another class. "It's just been fun," she said. And enlightening. "I've learned that we have more students than we realize who are so proud of their parents. That says a lot for the family, and the parents are so proud to come. That part of it I wish we could promote more." - Logan D. Mabe can be reached at 226-3464 or by e-mail at mabe@sptimes.com.
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