As unorthodox educational opportunities become increasingly accessible for high school students, some are getting a head start in the workforce at the Eastland-Fairfield Career and Technical Schools, finding new communities and unique learning experiences along the way.
Junior Abri Peyton, who works in the auto body and collision repair lab at Eastland-Fairfield, said her lab acts as a real car shop.
“People bring their cars in, and we work on them,” she said. “If you get into a fender bender or an accident, we take the dents out, we scuff them up, we paint them.”
Similarly, senior Athan Young said his lab in the automotive program had all the same equipment as a car dealership when he attended Eastland-Fairfield last year.
“I learned how to do oil changes, rotate tires and how to balance and replace a tire on a car,” he added.
Senior Paige Ingram also attends Eastland-Fairfield as a student in the programming and software engineering lab.
“I spend my mornings at Bexley,” she said. “Instead of going to third period, I get on a bus to go to Eastland.”
Ingram said her lab is about two hours and 30 minutes long.
“I do a lot with coding, and we also do a lot in databases and Excel,” she said.
Ingram explained she became interested in coding in middle school, and she visited the software engineering lab during her field trip to Eastland-Fairfield in her sophomore year.
“That really cemented for me that programming was something I wanted to do,” she explained.
Young said he chose the career center because hands-on learning is more effective for him.
“Sitting at a desk, for me, is not the best thing,” he said. “[Eastland-Fairfield] is more interactive than normal school.”
Young explained that he is taking academic classes at Bexley and working in the morning through the career center. Ingram said her schedule is similar, but her academic classes at Bexley are in the morning and her career center class is in the afternoon.
Ingram took her academic classes at the career center last year, but said she switched back to Bexley this year.
“I wanted the challenge that Bexley’s academics give,” she explained.
Ingram added that being at Eastland-Fairfield full-time allowed her to be more involved with the school, but she enjoys being a part of both schools’ communities.
Since she takes classes at both schools, Ingram said her schedules are often out of sync.
“I had two weeks of spring break, but I only had half of the day off for both weeks,” she said.
Peyton said she prefers the nontraditional and independent learning environment the career center provides.
“You’re very in control of your learning,” she said. “If you don’t want to work, that’s on you, but if you do work, that’s on you, too.”
Ingram explained the mutual respect she has for her classmates and teacher creates a professional work environment. At the beginning of the year, she said they worked with their teacher to write a set of guidelines for their lab.
“We all sat down…and created rules and voted on them,” she said.
Ingram added she became friends with classmates quickly because she collaborated with them often.
Peyton said she also likes the pacing of the curriculum and being able to choose how she learns.
“Everyone is at their own pace and working on different things, but we’re all within the same lesson,” she said.
Young said he enjoyed meeting people from different schools with different backgrounds, many of whom he is still in touch with.
“I learned how other schools are different from Bexley,” he added.
Ingram said even though she is planning on attending college after high school, going to the career center changed her perspective on postgraduate plans.
“I didn’t know a lot of kids who didn’t want to go college until I went to Eastland,” she said.
Young explained that his first year at Eastland-Fairfield gave him the opportunity to work at a dealership over the summer. It was similar to an internship, and it allowed him to learn from people working in his desired field, Young added.
Ingram also appreciated the work experience provided by the career center.
“It definitely taught me what my field is going to be like,” she said.
Ingram added because of her experience at the career center, she was able to get a commissionship with the Groveport Police Department.
“They commission me to do things…like update their website,” she said.
Ingram said the career center gives its students lots of opportunities following graduation.
“Eastland is one of those places where they give you every single option, and they want you to choose which one is best for you,” she said.
After graduating, Young said he doesn’t plan on going to college because the career center has given him enough experience to work at a dealership.
By contrast, Peyton said she wants to go to college for something other than her focus at the career center.
“I want to go to college for sports medicine and sports journalism, but while I’m in college, I can still get a job and make money,” she said.
Ingram said her favorite experience at Eastland-Fairfield has been participating in competitions against other schools and making connections with people she shared interests with.
“I did a group software engineering competition,” she said. “We made a video game and it got fifth place at nationals.”
Peyton said she also enjoyed meeting new people through the career center, adding that the community is very welcoming.
“It’s fun to be working with a bunch of friends in a shop,” she said. “It doesn’t feel like school—it feels like a job.”
Ingram said she has liked meeting people who are also interested in software engineering and branching outside of Bexley.
Attending Eastland-Fairfield has given her the confidence to pursue different career paths and consider which ones appeal to her most, she explained.
“Once I went to the career center, I was able to explore my options and make new connections that helped me narrow down what I wanted to do,” Ingram said.
