Diversified Occupations offers opportunities

Milton’s Diversified Occupations program provides job-oriented experience for senior students.

According to Co-Principal Mr. Andrew Rantz, the program has been around since 2021, but officially began in the 2022-23 school year since there were only three students when it started. Diversified Occupations (DO) is one of the school’s seven CTE programs, along with Accounting, Agriculture, Automotive Technology, Construction Trades, Early Childhood Education and Criminal Justice.

According to DO Instructor Ms. Amanda Smith-Derck, the program was temporarily shut down due to COVID-19, but reopened last year and will “hopefully remain that way for years to come.” As of now, there are 13 senior students in DO, she said.

Ms. Smith said that the school can work with any employer so long as they have a training, compensation and insurance agreement with the students and school. She added that they have a list of employers that the program worked with before, but DO is open to all types of jobs as long as they meet the requirements.

“For example, if a student wants to work at McDonalds for the program, as long as they meet the requirements, then it’s allowed,” said Ms. Smith.

Ms. Smith added that the purpose of the program is to give seniors work experience by having them create resumes and apply for entry level positions in their desired career field.  She added that DO students are responsible for creating their schedule, managing their pay stubs and gaining extensive knowledge and experience from their jobs.

Unlike core and non-CTE extracurricular classes, DO is a once-a-week class that students attend Wednesdays from 8-11 a.m. or 12-3 p.m. depending on their work schedule, Ms. Smith said. Though students still may have core classes at the high school, they only need to spend three hours a week in class for the program, she added.

“They only have to come back once a week for classes, and any other time, they’re out working a minimum of 15 hours and getting paid for this work as well,” said Ms. Smith.

The number of hours students can work per week depends on their age due to federal child labor laws, added Ms. Smith. Students aged 16 and 17 can work up to 28 hours a week Monday-Friday, with an additional eight hours on Saturday and Sunday, and students who are 18 can work unlimited hours as long as they don’t have classes to attend, according to Pennsylvania’s Abstract of the Child Labor Act Hours Provision.

The DO program’s benefits include an articulation agreement with Pennsylvania Department of Education to earn college credits from Pennsylvania College of Technology, Ms. Smith said. She added that students in the program are eligible for CTE-related organizations, such as National Technical Honor Society, Skills USA, Future Farmers of America and Future Business Leaders of America, all of which offer their own specific scholarships.

“There’s a lot of benefits, mainly scholarships, to being involved with Diversified Occupations,” said Ms. Smith.

Ms. Smith said she switched from teaching Early Childhood Education to Cooperative Education last year so she could give students the opportunity to gain experience in their future careers. She added that this is her second year working in DO.

“I think the program is a really good opportunity to give students a taste of their future careers,” said Ms. Smith. “I love seeing students excited about their employment and getting real world experience in a variety of areas.”

Senior Kyle Wilson started DO at the beginning of the 2022-23 school year. He added that he took the class because the other CTE classes require three years of prerequisite courses, while DO only needs one year.

“When I found out what DO was, I figured that I might as well take it for the credit,” added Kyle.

Kyle said that the program helped him find his current job as a laundry attendant at the Holiday Inn Express in New Columbia, adding that he chose the job because his mom had connections to the employer. He added that he tries to work every day except Wednesdays when he has to attend class.

Besides the work experience, Kyle said that DO allows him to make money while attending school. He added that the program helped him build his resume and provided a variety of job opportunities for him by giving him a list of options.

“It lets me find different job opportunities and can help me see what I can apply for,” said Kyle.

Kyle added that the program requires him to complete the Occupational Safety and Health Administration course, a ten-hour program that goes on a student’s resume and makes getting jobs easier.

“For people that want to make money at a young age, I recommend this program,” said Kyle. “If you’re a senior, definitely go for this class because it’ll help you do whatever job you want.”

Kyle said that as of now, he doesn’t believe that the DO program can be improved. He added that Ms. Smith and CTE Aide Ms. Jennifer Mabus are supportive and do their best to help students in the program.

“Whatever job you want to do, they’ll help point you in the right direction,” added Kyle.

Kyle said that DO helped him prepare for further education by exposing him to a work schedule early. He said he plans to attend Lackawanna College after he graduates and wants to work in physical therapy.