February 2nd is Groundhog Job Shadow Day

Will Punxsutawney Phil see his shadow on February 2? Thousands of U.S. workers will see shadows as they provide opportunities for young people across America to "shadow" them for a day. Job shadowing enables kids to get an up-close look at what a "real job" is like and how the skills they learn in school can be put into action.

Students around the country will shadow scientists, firefighters, graphic designers, mechanics, doctors, architects, teachers, government employees and workers from hundreds of other professions as they all observe, not just any Groundhog Day, but Groundhog Job Shadow Day.

Groundhog Job Shadow Day aims to

provide students with an up-close look at what a "real job" is like,

help students see the connection between what they learn in the classroom and what they will need to achieve their goals,

show students that they have choices in life, and

motivate kids to achieve.

A job shadowing experience might make a difference in the life of a student by giving that student a new vision for their future. It may even provide inspiration that can change a student's life forever. For example:

Malissa Yeglie of Louisiana never liked math until Beverly Loud, a BellSouth employee, showed her how she uses it everyday to calculate customer bills. "I didn't know her job consisted of all that math," stated the 13 year-old middle school student, "I'm going to try harder in math now."

That job shadowing experience inspired Malissa to be a better student, and for Beverly it served as affirmation of her value as an employee and a mentor.