5th Ward students participate in HP Job Shadow Day

On April 21, 2005, 20 high school seniors from Phyllis J. Wheatley High School located in the 5th Ward area of Houston Independent School District participated in the first-ever Junior Achievement (JA) Job Shadow Day hosted on the HP Houston campus. Job shadowing is a year-long national effort by JA to enrich the lives of students by acquainting them with the world of work through on-the-job experiences and a carefully crafted school curriculum that ties academics to the workplace.

A project team comprised of HP employees Troy Charlton and Danielle Hicks, both Junior Achievement volunteers at Wheatley High School, and James Barnes, e-Inclusion executive for the 5th Ward/HP i- community project, mobilized volunteers from the HP Black Employees Forum and the HP Latino Professional Association to serve as workplace mentors to the students.

In addition to the JA Job Shadow Day event, students were introduced to summer technology training opportunities provided through the 5th Ward/HP i-community project. Also, two students who participated in the Junior Achievement Economics Curriculum at Wheatley High School and HP Job Shadow Day event received Junior Achievement scholarships to Texas Southern University and the University of Houston.

HP project team members plan to expand JA Job Shadow Day to include more schools throughout the community.