Birmingham student ranks high in national competition

INCOMING FRESHMAN CLASS. LAST MONTH, A GROUP OF STUDENTS FROM WINONA HIGH SCHOOL TRAVELED TO SAINT LOUIS TO COMPETE IN THE NATIONAL CAREER DEVELOPMENT CONFERENCE. OUT OF HUNDREDS OF STUDENTS, SHAWN ASHE CAME HOME WITH A SECOND PLACE WIN. WVTM 13 JARVIS ROBERTSON SHARES THE STORY OF HOW HE’S SHINING BRIGHT. MY VISION WAS BLURRY. I REALIZED THAT DEEPLY. ENJOY THE PEACE OF NATURE. SHAWN ASHE IS AN 11TH GRADE STUDENT AT WINONA HIGH SCHOOL. JAG HELPED ME FOCUS THESE WORDS ARE PART OF A FIVE MINUTE SPEECH HE GAVE AT THE NATIONAL CAREER DEVELOPMENT CONFERENCE. I LIKE TO TALK. I REALLY JUST LIKE TO TALK TO ANYONE IN GENERAL ABOUT ANYTHING. HIS BIG SMILE MATCHES HIS BIG PERSONALITY AND IT’S ALL PART OF HIS SUCCESS. DURING THE JAG COMPETITION, HE PLACED FOURTH AT THE DISTRICT LEVEL AND SECOND AT THE STATE LEVEL, AND THEN SECOND AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL, WHICH WAS HIGHER THAN THE PERSON WHO CAME FIRST AT STATE LEVEL. IT WAS REALLY EXCITING FOR ME, CONSIDERING THAT THIS IS MY FIRST YEAR IN JAG, JAG, JOBS FOR ALABAMA GRADUATES IS ONE OF HIS CLASSES, HE SAYS. THAT’S PREPARING HIM TO BECOME A FULL TIME PHOTOGRAPHER WHEN HE GRADUATES. JAG HAS HELPED ME REALLY COME OUT OF MY SHELL EVEN MORE, AND THEY’VE HELPED ME REALLY DEVELOP A LOT OF MY SKILLS THAT I WANTED TO WORK ON. THERE ARE OVER 600 STUDENTS WHO COMPETED IN THE COMPETITION. DANA MARSHALL IS HIS TEACHER. SHE SAYS THEY FOCUS ON THE THREE E’S IN JAG ENROLLMENT, ENLISTMENT OR EMPLOYMENT. THEY’VE DONE COLLEGE VISITS. THIS SCHOOL YEAR RESUMED WRITING, TRULY FOCUSING ON THE WHOLE STUDENT AND GIVING THEM CHARACTER BUILDING SKILLS. WHEN I GO OUT AND I MEET WITH EMPLOYERS, THEY DON’T TELL ME I WANT SOMEONE WITH A 36 ACT SCORE. THEY WANT SOMEONE WHO KNOWS HOW TO SPEAK TO PEOPLE. THEY WANT SOMEONE WHO’S GOING TO SHOW UP TO WORK ON TIME. AND THOSE ARE THE TYPE SKILLS WE NEED TO DEVELOP. AS FOR ASHE, HE APPRECIATES THE NONTRADITIONAL LEARNING. HE MOVED TO BIRMINGHAM FROM ATLANTA TWO YEARS AGO AND HAS FOUND COMMUNITY AMONG OTHER STUDENTS. WHILE THEY ALL WORK TOWARDS A BRIGHTER FUTURE. I THINK YOU WOULD REALLY FIND YOUR PLACE HERE.

Sean Ash has a lot to be proud of. He's an 11th-grade student at Wenonah High School (WHS) and a second-place winner of the National Career Development Conference.The conference was hosted by Jobs for America's Graduates (JAG). Ash is a JAG student at WHS. He's just about done with his first year in the program. Last month students traveled to St. Louis for the national competition. Getting there wasn't necessarily an easy process. Ash had to qualify with a district win. He came in fourth place in that competition. After advancing to the state level, he finished second place as well. >> A MOMENT OF JOY: News We LoveOver 600 students competed for top honors in 11 categories. Ash took 2nd place for Prepared Speaking."My vision was blurry. I realized I deeply enjoyed the peace of nature," he recited from his five-minute speech.Ash wants to be a photographer. The teen spends his weekends around the area taking pictures. Dana Marshall is the JAG sponsor at WHS, she says the class is about real-world skill-building. They focus on the three E's: enrollment, enlistment, and employment. The goal is to get students prepared for post-secondary life."For instance, we’re working on greeting, name, affiliation, purpose. When my students saw you, hopefully, they GNAP you and introduced themselves to you," Marshall said."I like to talk," Ash said. "I like to talk to anyone in general, about anything."This teen's personality and energy are all part of his success."JAG has helped me come out of my shell even more, and they’ve helped me develop a lot of my skills that I wanted to work on," Ash explained. Stay updated on the latest stories with the WVTM 13 app. You can download it here.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. —

Sean Ash has a lot to be proud of. He's an 11th-grade student at Wenonah High School (WHS) and a second-place winner of the National Career Development Conference.

The conference was hosted by Jobs for America's Graduates (JAG).

Ash is a JAG student at WHS. He's just about done with his first year in the program. Last month students traveled to St. Louis for the national competition.

Getting there wasn't necessarily an easy process. Ash had to qualify with a district win. He came in fourth place in that competition. After advancing to the state level, he finished second place as well.

>> A MOMENT OF JOY: News We Love

Over 600 students competed for top honors in 11 categories. Ash took 2nd place for Prepared Speaking.

"My vision was blurry. I realized I deeply enjoyed the peace of nature," he recited from his five-minute speech.

Ash wants to be a photographer. The teen spends his weekends around the area taking pictures.

Dana Marshall is the JAG sponsor at WHS, she says the class is about real-world skill-building. They focus on the three E's: enrollment, enlistment, and employment. The goal is to get students prepared for post-secondary life.

"For instance, we’re working on greeting, name, affiliation, purpose. When my students saw you, hopefully, they GNAP you and introduced themselves to you," Marshall said.

"I like to talk," Ash said. "I like to talk to anyone in general, about anything."

This teen's personality and energy are all part of his success.

"JAG has helped me come out of my shell even more, and they’ve helped me develop a lot of my skills that I wanted to work on," Ash explained.

Stay updated on the latest stories with the WVTM 13 app. You can download it here.

Birmingham student ranks high in national competition

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