DPS Acceler8 | Durham Public Schools eighth-graders explore future career paths at annual Acceler8 event – ABC11 Raleigh-Durham

DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) — “The world is your oyster.”

Eighth graders in Durham Public Schools gathered Tuesday morning for the district’s annual Acceler8, a career exploration day.

Over 70 vendors lined up outside Durham County Stadium showcase some of the career paths students can take from healthcare to energy, environment and utilities.

“With our eighth-graders, they’re thinking about high school,” said Director of Current Technical Education Darian Harris. “It’s a great opportunity to connect high school programming with what they want to do.”

Small and large companies, such as Novo Nordisk, aim to help students learn about their industries and broaden their perspectives on the world of work.

Students Makayla Oldham and Aalayah Pegram already have specific careers in mind, such as forensic scientist and animal caretaker. But they said they enjoy what the career fair has to offer.

“I like how you can do a lot of things and explore a lot of different things,” Oldham said. “Even though you might not want to do it, you still have the opportunity to just learn about it.”

Pegram said she enjoyed learning about electricity in one of the tents.

“We learned about volts, and there were like these two little plugs that you put in the machine,” Pegram said, “and it shows how many volts it is, and it goes up when you put it in the machine, and it goes down when you take out like the sticks.”

According to district officials, there’s no pressure to have it all figured out at an early age, but there’s something exciting about knowing some of the options available as students prepare for high school.

“This fair will provide opportunities for students to explore different careers so when they go to high school they have some ideas and are ready,” said DPS Assistant Superintendent of Middle Schools Dr. Kesia Rogers.

She said, “seeing the kids light up when they see the different careers they may have never thought of… and asking questions. It’s in practice and that excitement really excites me.”

READ MORE