By VERNON ROBISON
Moapa Valley Progress
Students from the Moapa Valley High School Jobs for America’s Graduates (JAG) program attended the Nevada State JAG Career Development Conference in Las Vegas on Monday, May 18. Nearly 200 students from 22 different schools across the state attended the conference.
While at the conference, the local JAG students competed against big and small schools from every JAG Chapter in Nevada. There were eight competition categories including Employability Skills (interview, cover letter, resume, application), Art, Essay, Chapter Display, Public Speaking, Scrapbook, Critical Thinking and Creative Problem Solving.
“Our students did extremely well in the competition,” said MVHS JAG teacher Tammie Archibald. “This is the first year for our program so it was new for our kids. And we were going up against seasoned JAG students that have had programs at their schools for a long time.”
MVHS student Amanda Dovilla took second place in the state for the Creative Problem Solving category. In this contest, the students were divided into teams with students from other schools. The teams were given materials like newspaper, masking tape, straws and cardboard. With thsoe materials, they were asked to construct a structure which would support the weight of a 3-ring binder full of material.
“They were also judged on how well they worked as a team,” Archibald said. “They had to be able to employ the skills of each player on the team.”
Another local JAG student, Kaylee Fisher, took third place in the Art category. Fisher entered a ceramic sculpture that she had created this year in an Art class at MVHS.
“She is an amazing artist,” Archibald said. “She could have won a similar award with any one of a number of different pieces that she created this year.”
MVHS student Ashlie McCafferty, who also attended the conference, took second place in the Chapter Scrapbook category. This category had McCafferty compiling a book on all that the MVHS JAG Chapter has done throughout the year.
“Ashlie is a talented graphic artist,” Archibald said. “She did a very professional job on the scrapbook capturing all that the kids accomplished this year.”
McCafferty also took third place in the Critical Thinking category. In this contest, each student was given a workplace scenario which contained a problem needing to be solved. The student had to determine what the problem was and develop an effective plan to deal with it.
“She was very good at it,” Archibald said of McCafferty. “She is an excellent thinker.”
Finally, McCafferty was recognized at the conference to receive the MVHS JAG Outstanding Student Star Award. This award is given to a nominee from each JAG chapter who has shown leadership and outstanding efforts.
“I nominated her because she is such an amazing kid,” Archibald said. “She has given 110 percent to everything that she has done.”
As part of the conference, students heard internationally renowned career author, Don Asher; Las Vegas weatherman Kevin Janison; and activist and dynamic business woman, Punam Mathur.
Students visited workshops to improve financial literacy and college preparation.
They also attended a college and career fair with numerous employers, federal agency firefighters, Nevada and Utah colleges, culinary programs, and all branches of the military.
“I asked my students what their favorite part of the experience was, and they all had different responses,” Archibald said. “Some really liked the speakers, while others really had fun with the competition and meeting others from around the state. One student had a great interview experience with author Don Asher. Yet another really loved the college and career fair. It was a great experience with something for everyone.”
