Ebenezer Middle School students learn about local career paths, success

Forty-seven students from Ebenezer Middle School had the opportunity to participate in the Student Leadership Career Forum.

For the sixth year of implementation, the Greater Sumter Chamber of Commerce Education Committee, in partnership with Sumter School District, developed the forum to help ensure students are aware of career opportunities in their local community and to provide a forum to discuss eight essential affirmations needed for success.

During the two-hour forum, professionals from Palmetto Health Tuomey, Kaydon, City of Sumter, Sumter Fire Department, USC Sumter and the YMCA led roundtable discussions that emphasized the importance of education, qualities of a good employee, the need for good financial habits, traits of a lifelong learner and how character defines success.

Trained facilitators Dennis Turner and Brenda Golden interwove a discussion on eight essential affirmations that students can use to help them be successful. Following the forum, each student now has the opportunity to sign up for a site visit, which provides a firsthand look into that actual career.

The Greater Sumter Chamber of Commerce thinks this program is a model for a partnership between the local chamber and the local school district that can be duplicated across the state.