From performing knee surgery to restoring power to a city, students engaged in future career opportunities in a simulated environment. On the hunt for post high school options or looking for a unique explorative experience, students participated in Transfer, an immersive virtual reality experience. In room 279 during X-block on June 11, Youth Connections, a program offering support for education, gave students the opportunity to explore a variety of career options through virtual reality (VR) headsets.
Every year, Luca Direnzo, Career Exploration Specialist for Youth Connections, goes to 12 high schools across the state. He enjoys being able to provide students with opportunities that are ordinarily inaccessible.
“The idea is that we go to high schools and give [students] opportunities to explore careers through VR. We give them access to things that normally people don’t get to have, like VR, because [VR] is expensive,” Direnzo said.
According to Direnzo, the virtual reality simulation is helpful to students curious about the careers they want to pursue.
“My favorite part is seeing the expression of when people try it out and are kind of amazed by it,” Direnzo said. “I’ve had people who are into the medical field but aren’t sure whether or not they want to dedicate many years to it, and they try this out and they’re like, ‘This reinforces my [desire] to go into the medical field.’”
The VR room included a multitude of job options, from fields in the healthcare industry to automotive jobs. Freshman Fedor Chuprov enjoyed performing knee surgery through the simulation.
“It was really fun and interactive. I got to do a lot of stuff. It was interesting to watch, too,” Chuprov said. “I would come back and recommend it to other people because it gives people a feel for jobs that they might be curious about.”
Junior Elise Kutka, who participated in the Virtual Reality experience, learned about being a power-line worker, and said she enjoyed experiencing one of the niche jobs that she would not have ordinarily known about.
“It was definitely something that I’ve never been exposed to before,” Kutka said. “I was climbing up poles, I was restoring and replacing a generator. I was using a lot of tools, I was very high up in the sky, and I saw the city line. It felt very empowering to know this is what people do every day.”
Experiences like Kutka’s are why Direnzo said she values bringing the simulation to high school students.
“It’s a really cool and interesting way that seems to really engage high schoolers,” Direnzo said. “It’s a gamified way of figuring out what you may or may not like. Not every student can go into a hospital and perform knee surgery, but in here you can.”
