A group of Tyrone High School juniors recently had the opportunity to learn about various career and workforce options firsthand through Blair County’s job shadowing program.

The annual job shadowing program is run by the Blair County Chamber of Commerce and organized locally at Tyrone High School by Guidance Counselor Nicole Taneyhill.

Students are encouraged to pick a career field and get matched with a local employer.  They then job-shadow for a day to see if the career field is a good fit for them.

According to Taneyhill, 41 Tyrone juniors participated in job shadowing during November.

“This is a very good experience for students who are unsure about what they want to do in their future,” said Taneyhill.

Junior Maddy Rockwell was one of the Tyrone students who took advantage of this opportunity.  She went to UPMC Altoona for her job shadowing experience.

“I shadowed a physical therapist because this is the career I’ve wanted to have since fourth grade,” said Rockwell. “I feel like it’s a job that I could easily fit into because I really enjoy helping others. When I went to physical therapy last year it made me realize that this is what I really want to do when I’m older.”

Another junior who said she had an interesting job shadowing experience was Brianna Harris. Harris was able to job shadow at Thaler Dentistry.

“I chose this job because I’ve always been interested when I’ve gone to the dentist or orthodontist,” said Harris. “I thought the most interesting part of the job shadow experience was just seeing how everything I’ve been learning came into the real world.”

Harris said she had a great day learning about her intended career and the experience reinforced her interest in the field.

Students that are interested in this great opportunity are able to sign up through the guidance office in September of their junior year.