MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW) – Myrtle Beach-area eighth grade students are getting a jump start in their career as they spend the week testing out jobs at a career expo.

“Pathways 2 Possibilities” in Myrtle Beach is designed to help middle-schoolers link their passions to a paycheck. 

Students take a study break from learning inside the classroom to get a glimpse of a variety of jobs and career fields they may want to pursue down the road. Employers from 19 different professions share details about their profession with students and the road it took to get there. 

“It connects youth with opportunity and it connects employers with their future workforce,” said Geales Sands, event coordinator. 

Government, human services, and mechanics are just a few of the professions represented this week. Another benefit is to give middle school students an idea of the jobs on which their community depends.

The general manager of First Vehicle, Rich Price, educated students on the daily tasks of being a technician or mechanic. Price shared how a lot of people think of a mechanic as a ‘grease monkey,’ but it’s not that way.

“It’s not all about strength and getting dirty but, instead, having to use your brain to figure out electrical problems and problems with new computer systems,” said Price. “We get to touch a lot of lives that nobody sees because we maintain the backhoes, the ambulances, the firetrucks.”

Some middle-schoolers who attended “Pathways 2 Possibilities” this week may not know what they want to do when it comes to choosing a career. Coordinators say they extend the invite to eighth-graders, specifically because students between the eighth and ninth grade hold the highest dropout rate nationally.

“The other reason we chose eighth grade is that in South Carolina that’s when kids do their graduation plan, so they are expected to plan their high school career in the eighth grade,” Sands said.

Employees are representing their companies, taking pride in what they do and showing students that while there are jobs such as nurses and doctors in hospitals, there are also people working behind the scenes in human resources, finance, technology and more. 

“I just like to see people succeed. If you get to pass along your information and your knowledge to the next generation, I believe we have done our part,” Price said. 

The original initiative was to address the trend of young people leaving Georgetown County after high school due to a lack of jobs, but has since expanded into a much larger career event for Horry and Georgetown counties. 

The event continues through Thursday, February 6 from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. 

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