Welding and culinary arts don’t seem to go together, but Sandwich eighth grader Kyle Bronski took the opportunity to learn a little more about both programs at Indian Valley Vocational Center last week.

Eighth-grade students from nine of the center’s 11 supporting districts arrived by the busload throughout the morning and afternoon of Tuesday, April 24 to learn more about the vocational programs offered to high school juniors and seniors. Each student was able to choose three study areas they might be interested in exploring further.

Program areas available at IVVC include auto body repair, automotive technology, building trades, computer technology, culinary arts, drafting and design, early childhood development, fire science, graphic communications, health occupations-exploring health careers, health occupations-CNA, law enforcement, sports medicine/management, and welding and fabrication. IVVC assistant director Jane Wolf said hospitality management will not be offered next school year due to a lack of enrollment. Cosmetology is offered off-site.

“We started the conversation about this career exploration day last year,” Wolf said. Spearheading the event, she said a great deal of coordination with a teacher advisory committee went into making it happen.

Director Ron Piepers said Wolf actually wrote a grant to help pay for the event. “The grant helped to reimburse some of the cost of transportation to the schools, buying lunch for some of the helpers and some incidentals,” he explained.

In each of the career areas, instructors and students talked with the younger students. Automotive technology teacher Jim Rorie said student Austin Kember has a newfound respect for what teachers handle every day. Kember served as speaker and guide for the eighth graders interested in automotive technology.

“One of the goals was to have the students talk with these kids. Kids get talked to by adults all the time,” Rorie said.

“We used to have Super Saturday for fifth graders, but it was just a fun thing,” Wolf said. “This event has some meaning.”