Few people have the opportunity to examine what their future could look like before graduating high school. Now, thanks to the EPIC Work Experience Program, it is possible for students at Columbus High School.

“We expose the students to different businesses and opportunities,” said CHS Career Coach Jim Sutherland. “We prepare them, and (help) them get ready for that. We investigate the areas that they want to pursue, and then we connect them to those areas; this enables them to get an internship or job with a company.”

“I’ve always wanted to be a welder, but this definitely helped me towards that experience,” said senior Danny Stogner. “It shows me if I can go do the work at Yokohama or anywhere else, that I can be a welder or whatever I decide to do using my skills for a job.”

Sutherland works with Three Rivers Planning and Development District to help implement the EPIC Work Experience Program. Accelerate Mississippi provides the funding.

Stogner, along with three other CHS students, participated in the program this past summer at Yokohama Tire Manufacturing Mississippi in West Point.

“I like working with my hands better, and it made me realize that even more,” Stogner said. “I already knew that, but it was good to have that reassurance. I also learned how difficult it is to make tires. I also learned about what the other parts of the plant do.”

CHS juniors and seniors in the program spend up to 100 hours in the internship.

“It’s a great opportunity that allows students to see if they really want to pursue a certain career,” Sutherland said. “If they decide after the internship, they want to do something else, now they have an idea of what a workplace environment looks like and what to expect.”

At least eight CHS students have interned at businesses. Right now, Sutherland is working to recruit more companies to come on board with the program.

“I want businesses to understand what we are trying to do,” he said. “We work with the students to prepare them for the expectations and the paperwork. This program helps our students understand more about the real world and helps them find something they enjoy rather than a job they might hate.”

The academic programs at CHS are also preparing students for these roles.

“My classes help me focus on the task in front of me and skills inside the factory that I didn’t realize I needed to do the job,” Stogner said.

“There is opportunity here for these kids,” Sutherland said. “You have a lot of options when you graduate high school, and we want to try and give them as many options as possible so they can go and do what they feel led to do in their life. So, that’s what I love in this sense. I love just opening their eyes to the resources and all the opportunities around here.”

If your business would like to participate, please contact CHS Career Coach Jim Sutherland at [email protected].