Bethany’s January Term, (or J-Term), is a highlight for many students, as well as a very unique experience. However, seniors get to experience something completely different. Rather than joining the the other J-Term groups, seniors get the opportunity to pick two different businesses or people to shadow for a week.
The places they shadow are not assigned. Instead, seniors choose where they would like to shadow based on what they think they might want to study in college. While some students pick two very similar jobs or people they shadow, many pick two that are related in topic but completely different from each other in job description.
Many seniors had good experiences and said they would not have traded their Job Shadowing experiences for a J-Term class, if given the chance. Isabel Rondo (‘16) was able to shadow a 6th grade teacher at Goshen Middle School. She really enjoyed her time and said one of her favorite moments was watching 6th graders trade flash drives with games on them. “It was like observing drug transactions. Kid 1: ‘Do you have it?’ Kid 2: ‘Yeah I got it.’ Kid 1: ‘Quick! No one’s looking!’”
Seniors, for the most part, were really interested with the job they chose and could see themselves continuing into the same profession or one that is very similar. Ethan Lapp (‘16) commented, “I chose this placement because I like helping people in any way, and this is the main goal of being a counselor.”
Knowing what they want to do in the future really helps seniors decide who they want to shadow. While some seniors get exactly what they expected during the job shadowing, other students such as Tyler Huffman (‘16), who shadowed his uncle in computer security, learned that some people “like powerpoints to explain to them why they shouldn’t leave a door unlocked.”
Job shadowing is a very unique opportunity seniors at Bethany have. This week is one of the experiences offered at Bethany that makes it stand out from other schools. It is a very educational week, but at the same time, completely out of the norm.
~Carissa Woolace
Job Shadow List
- Ian Bomberger: Mast Mechanics, L&W Engineering
- Nathanael Eby: Mark Daniels’ Arts, Hospice
- Jack Erlacher: Utah Davis County Sheriff Department, Standard Examiner
- Martin Gerig: Nature Conservancy, Goshen Hospital
- Mia Graber Miller: Lighting Gaffer-Indy, Prairie View, Stuart Meade Photographer
- Luke Hanna: Goshen Hospital-Radiation Department, Goshen College-Physics Department
- Abbi Hawkins: Michael Saunders Realty, Animal Care Clinic North
- Jingjing He: Stutsman Dentistry
- Tingting He: Goshen Airport, Stutsman Dentistry
- Tyler Huffman: Micro Source, Franciscan Alliance
- Zoe Hunley: K.I.S.S. Photography, Sweet Water Interiors
- David Kaufman: Rochester Orthopedics, Plaskow Memorial Hospital
- Yejin Kim: Ten Thousand Villages, Goshen College Music Center
- Hyein Kwon: Goshen Family Physicians, Goshen College – Science Building
- Paul Krabill: Beacon Health Marketing, Belmont Mennonite Church
- Ethan Lapp: Executive Director of the Window, 6th Grade Counselor at Northridge
- Elijah Lora: Elkhart County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, Felipe Merino Merino Law Firm
- Darienne Maust: Dawn Thomas Millersburg Elementary, Goshen IU Health
- Joel Miller: Curtis Products, Lozier
- Ryan Oostland: Haiku Learning, Hertzler Systems
- Christian Ramirez Flores: Haiku Learning
- Alex Reinhardt: L&W Engineering, Civil Engineering Branch of Goshen
- Noah Richer: Veada, Parkside Elementary School
- Lindsey Riddle: Goshen Hospital, Dr. Bassitt Family Dentistry
- Isabel Rondo: Chandler Elementary School, Goshen Middle School
- Gianella Salas: Everence, Northridge Middle School
- Nick Schrock: Solution Source, Everence
- Matthew Smucker: The Center for Community Justice, Waterford Elementary School
- Kyle Snyder: Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics, Oaklawn Mental Health Center in Goshen
- Alicia Thomas: Rachel’s Bread, IU Health Goshen-Oncology
- Mason Tollar: Goshen College, Indiana Plastics
- Jane Wang: Pet Center, Prairie View Elementary School
- Danielle Yoder: Jefferson Elementary School, B on the River