High school students in American Samoa visit the Pago Pago USDA Service Center to learn about careers in agriculture.
by Josie Malepeai Lealasola
The USDA Service Center in Pago Pago, American Samoa adapted the nationally recognized Bring Your Son Or Daughter to Work Day and turned it into Bring A Student to Work Day. We invited 25 eighth graders from Coleman Elementary School to visit our office and participate in an array of activities with the Service Center staff. We recruited and organized several local businesses to also take part in the event. Farm Service Agency took the lead for our agencies, and I was honored to spearhead the event. My goal was to create an awareness of the excellent federal career opportunities among the youth in the community and especially among the young people living within the immediate vicinity of our federal building.
The USDA Farm Service Agency, Natural Resource Conservation Service and Rural Development along with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Fisheries Observer Program and South Seas Broadcasting gave “What We Do” presentations. Students heard about each speaker’s average work day, what type of educational background is essential to their position, what is the best part of their job and what type of characteristics and attributes are needed to be successful in that position.
Students were inspired by Sagele Tualevao, a successful and popular DJ from V103 radio on Samoa who spoke about overcoming adversity. He also spoke about being honest with yourself, about your dreams and knowing your skills. Even though Tualevao is blind, he is highly successful and shared his experience of perseverance and making the impossible possible with the right attitude and approach to life.
Overall the students were overwhelmingly impressed at what each agency or business did in their community and how they were affected directly or indirectly by this work. After presentations, the students participated in several hands-on activities including a geo-caching GIS exercise with NRCS, a tour of 93 KHJ and V103 radio stations, and trivia contest on fish and wildlife identification with NOAA.
The goal was to give students an idea of what happens in a building that they probably walk past daily and to get them thinking analytically about what types of careers they might want to pursue in the future. It was a pleasure to organize this event and help the next generation get prepared for their futures.
