Career-driven students

Nativity Catholic School was the location of a car meet Thursday morning. No, there were no Ferraris, BMWs or Porsches — think more along the lines of squad cars, logging trucks and street sweepers.

They were all there for Rhinelander Partners in Education’s (PIE) Careers on Wheels event, along with more than 120 students from area elementary schools attending.

Fifth-grade student Yadyn Lange tries out the drivers seat of a loader during Careers on Wheels on Thursday, May 1, at Nativity Catholic School in Rhinelander.
(Photo by Kate Reichl/Lakeland Times)

The event presents fourth- and fifth-graders with a unique and exciting career exploration program that allows them to learn about different careers that use vehicles, large and small.

This year, 18 different careers and their associated vehicles were on display, according to Rhinelander Police chief Lloyd Gauthier, longtime event chair.

Participants in this year’s event included: a Frasier’s Cooling & Heating truck, a Stargazer limousine, a Forth Floral delivery truck, a Wisconsin Public Service lineman truck, Nicolet College Automotive Department auto repair, Ponsse logging equipment, Foley’s Tree Service equipment, an Oneida County Sheriff’s Office UTV, a Shoeder’s RV, a vehicle from Rhinelander GM Auto Group, a Rhinelander city street sweeper, Rhinelander Police Department squad car and a Rhinelander Fire Department firetruck and ambulance.

During the event, goups of students rotated through the vendors, spending time learning about the career and sometimes getting a hands-on peek at the job.

Chief Gauthier said the event is aimed at fourth- and fifth-graders in order to show them that they need to follow a good path to get into many of those fields.

“Some of those careers require a background check, so getting kids in early to understand that if a passion ignites within them, as they get older and they get more freedom and can make more choices, some of those choices could be bad and could be bad enough to eliminate those careers for them,” Gauthier said.

Fifth-grade student Chantz Stone tests out a schoolbus radio during Careers on Wheels on Thursday, May 1, at Nativity Catholic School in Rhinelander.
(Photo by Kate Reichl/Lakeland Times)

The event was first held in 2011 and developed out of a Leadership Oneida County program Gauthier attended.

“When you go through Leadership Oneida County, part of that nine-month program is you have to pick a community project to work on,” Gauthier explained.

At the time, PIE presented the Careers on Wheels as a prospective project.

“Being in law enforcement and driving a squad, I thought this sounded like something I wanted to do,” Gauthier said. “I got in on the first one and was one of three people that started it as a community project.”

Since 2011, Careers on Wheels has been held in early May (except in 2020) with a diverse and evolving crop of participating vendors. Local elementary schools rotate in hosting the event.

Michael Strasburg may be reached at [email protected].