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Caleb Fleming from Thompson High School talks with Wayne Windsor about his YouTube aspirations. (Reporter Photos/Keith McCoy)

David Farley from Thompson High School speaks with Diana Wagoner.

Devin McDaniel from Chelsea High School speaks with Teresa Olshesski.

Srudents received lectures on how to help manage stress and other emotions on the job.

All human beings share one thing in life, we all make mistakes. (File)

By GRAHAM BROOKS / Staff Writer

HELENA–Oftentimes the phrase “practice makes perfect” can be heard in reference to athletics, but on Tuesday, April 24, hundreds of students throughout Shelby County received a kind of practice that will be applicable to the real world.

Thanks to the Arc of Shelby County, students from Shelby County Schools and Alabaster City Schools made their way to the Helena Sports Complex for a career expo where they received several mock interview sessions from various employers throughout the county.

Each student received at least three mock interviews with various employers where they received immediate feedback on things they did well on, as well as things they may need to work on for interviews in the future.

Oak Mountain High School junior Greyson Alliston was one of those that participated in the mock interviews and he was happy to get the practice before he applies for a job this summer.

“They went over what are my skills and weaknesses, what are some things I like to do outside of school, if I’ve had any previous jobs and things like that,” Alliston said. “I haven’t had a job in almost a year now so I’m going to go apply this summer for a job and it’s good to refresh and get the shyness out and get used to the questions.”

Bob Bell, who works at Burton Campers in Calera, was one of the employers on hand to interview several students and give them feedback.

“I interviewed about six kids and I just asked them things like what did they feel like they have that they could bring to an employer, have they worked or done volunteer work before, what are their strengths and weaknesses and things like that,” Bell said. “To be honest, it was like night and day for most of these students from their first interview compared to their third or fourth today. You could tell they were much more comfortable and they worked out some of the jitters the longer things went on. I just think it was great for them to get this experience.”

Senior Alec Steck from Oak Mountain High School said he got some tips on how to better handle group work.

“I have some trouble with group working so they told me to treat it like a brother-sister relationship and to take time with it and learn to cope with it,” Steck said.

Steck plans to enlist in the Marines to do humanitarian work upon graduating from Oak Mountain.

To view or purchase more photos, visit Shelbycountyphotos.com.

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