Before the ringing of the final bell, some students are on buses getting ready to argue constitutional rights in a mock courtroom or welding steel in a college lab.
Through partnerships within the Stark County compact that includes programs at Lake High School, Hoover High School, Jackson High School and Stark State College, GlenOak students can participate in career tech programs off campus while remaining enrolled at GlenOak.
The focus of the program is to expand opportunities for students.
“I love to see students get excited when they get into a program like welding or business, and they find their pathway. It provides the students the opportunity to hopefully work and provide money while getting an education,” Career Tech Coordinator Jared Buck said
Junior Abigail Hunter attends the Legal Studies program at Lake, where students spend time preparing for an annual mock trial competition based on a real case.
This year’s case involved a college student who submitted his DNA to a genealogy website for extra credit. However, the student did not read the terms and conditions, and unknowingly allowed law enforcement access to the database later used to identify his uncle as a murderer. The students in the legal studies program were tasked with arguing whether the students’ privacy rights were violated or not.
Students in the program are assigned to prosecution or defense teams.
“You can be selected as an attorney, or you can be selected as a witness. The attorneys handle the opening statements, the direct and cross-examinations, and the closing arguments, and then there are three witnesses who memorize their affidavits. During the trial, only two of the three witnesses are called to the stand, and the third person usually serves as the timekeeper or bailiff,” Hunter said.
Hunter’s team argued that the student’s privacy rights were not violated, which was the position the judge ruled in favor of.
“In his witness statement, he said that even if he knew law enforcement had used his DNA, he would still have submitted it,” Hunter said.
Preparation spans from November to March and requires close analysis of testimony and evidence.
“When you’re given a case, you’ve got to really focus on the details and make sure that you don’t miss anything,” Hunter said.
The experience has broadened Hunter’s outlook on her career.
“Before I went into legal studies, I definitely had a set plan. I wanted to become a detective but since taking the course, it’s made me think about my other options,” Hunter said.
Junior Angel Gonzalez attends Stark State for welding.
“The process of welding is adding metallic gases onto another metal to strengthen and reinforce it,” Gonzalez said. “We’re melting metal to metal.”
Students train in three primary welding methods: stick, MIG and TIG, each requiring different tools and techniques.
“For Stick, it’s rods that you use a handle with, and you start flicking it off until it starts going,” Gonzalez said. “For MIG, you’re using a little machine with a trigger and it spits out the wire metal. For TIG, you’re using a little needle.”
Welding students practice running passes, which involve guiding molten metal along the seam where two pieces meet, and then testing their welds by bending them to measure durability. Students also complete projects, including shelves and decorative metal pieces.
“Buildings, ships, airplanes, cars, all those things are welded; they need to be welded so they can be strong enough to withstand the force they’re going into,” Gonzalez said
When welding, students must use the correct process depending on the materials they are working with.
“With the different processes, there’s only a certain type of material you can use. So for TIG, for example, you can only use aluminum because if not, it might burn it or it won’t go through the other metals,” Gonzalez said.
Welding is a trade, but not every student will apply the skills that they learned in the trades, but rather in the military
“ I plan on welding in the Navy. I want to be a hull technician. I want to be able to weld on ships or submarines,” Gonzalez said.
If any student is interested in learning more about the programs offered through the Stark County compact, they can visit Buck’s office in lower B.
