Today, they are students in schools across the Cobb County School District. Tomorrow, they are healthcare workers, cybersecurity analysts, U.S. service members, police officers, EMTs, heavy equipment operators, construction managers, IT professionals, engineers, aviation mechanics, financial planners, or a job yet to be created.  

More than 1,700 Cobb Middle and High School students explored future career opportunities during the District’s annual engaging and inspiring Future Fest.

The Cobb Innovation and Technology Academy (CITA) hosted a variety of businesses and organizations that provided the Cobb students with a preview of what could be their future careers. From an excavator simulator and bucket truck to live insects and a robot dog, the 100+ career and educational displays offered hands-on and interactive opportunities for students to learn about high-demand career fields like healthcare, construction, information technology, energy, military, and public safety.

The Cobb students also learned from their fellow students enrolled in CITA. One of those students is a national champion due to the training he has received at the Cobb school. Cooper Sunday is the 2023 CAT Simulators Student Showdown Dozer Champion, and he was at Future Fest to tell students why they should follow his path to success. 

“[I] start by talking about the four pathways you can take in this shop at CITA, like plumbing, masonry, electrical, and carpentry. I talk about different little things like how everything in here is made by students, students who take these classes,” explained CITA sophomore Cooper.

As the Future Fest guests explored the construction classroom, Cooper could explain his first-hand experience as a student at CITA. Students like Cooper have access to hands-on learning experiences and career opportunities through District, post-secondary, and industry partnerships.

“I started with industry fundamentals and occupational safety, and after that, a safety class makes sure you learn basic tools. It’s pretty fun. After that, you get into Intro to Construction, and that class introduces you to all four of these pathways that you can specialize in,” the CITA student detailed. “Once you learn all those four things, you can specialize in one of them. After that, if you wanted to, you could specialize in, for example, if you did plumbing, you can specialize in plumbing, of course, after that, you can specialize in masonry.”

Knowing that he is getting ready for the workforce, Cooper appreciates the certifications he has already earned through CITA, including two OSHA certifications. 

Senior Nathan Acevedo welcomed Future Fest students inside CITA’s healthcare pathway. 

“I’m getting my credentials to become a PCT, which is a patient care technician. I learned a lot of how to interact with patients and just the communication skills within the health care system itself,” Nathan said. 

Nathan was able to explain the healthcare courses offered and the certifications the students could earn if they enrolled in CITA.

“Many of the middle schoolers and the students at Future Fest were asking me, ‘What are the mannequins like? So, how do you interact with mannequins? How do you interact with patients?’ I would explain to them what it’s like to interact with the patient and what it is like to be with an actual health care provider,” Nathan added.

Thanks to the certifications Nathan will have when he graduates in May, he will be able to work at a hospital or clinic while he continues his educational journey. 

“When I graduate, I plan on working. I will still go to college. I want to become a doctor,” Nathan said. 

Cobb’s partnership with WellStar benefits students like Nathan by providing exposure to healthcare professionals, access to scholarships, and employment opportunities.

WellStar teams were at Future Fest to excite the next group of healthcare professionals. 

“We want kids to get exposure to many different careers in health care, not just exposure, but we want them to engage with our health care professionals so they can learn more about careers and how to get in those careers, what classes they need to take, what other things they need to do to prepare, what leadership skills they need to have as well. Our goal is looking at workforce development and how we get kids excited about careers in health care,” explained Lasandra Boykin, WellStar Health System manager of community engagement.

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