Carlsbad High School held its inaugural Occupation Day on Wednesday April 19, 2023. This on campus event showcased area businesses and organizations from the community. There were multiple sessions and workshops throughout the day, as well as a section for businesses to host booths.

Along the perimeter of the parking lot near the cafeteria, fire trucks, SWAT vehicles, police cars, and a flatbed of empty WIPP Tru-waste containers were on hand for students to explore and learn about. Workshops and sessions were in the science building and the upper section of the main gym was turned into a tradeshow floor of sorts for students to attend. This allowed them to stop and chat with businesses and learn about what they do in the community, the jobs available, and pick up some cool swag. Dustin Humphrey, a Certified Service Technician with Carlsbad Chevrolet demonstrated different issues with lights on vehicles that can be encountered and explained the process for discovering the problem and demonstrated how the questions they ask help them figure out issues with the car. Approximately 58 area businesses participated in Occupation Day.

“Occupation day allowed the students to get a clear vision or at least an idea of what they might want to do after high school, whether it be going to college, the military, or straight into the workforce. It was a day for the students to see what Carlsbad offers and the types of jobs in our community,” shared Diamond Morrill, STEM/SIS Academy Lead Teacher and one of the event organizers.

“Based on our academy program here at CHS, it was important for the students to see what kind of career they want to go into so they can start preparing for that career early on in the appropriate academy pathway. A lot of time and effort was put into this day by the academy lead teachers (myself, Charlin Hernandez, Kevin Zink, and Rhonda Guthals) and hopefully the students got what they wanted and needed out of this event,” added Morrill.

Focus on Carlsbad magazine offered a workshop for students, describing the process of publishing a magazine and then asking the students to work on a writing prompt. The session title was #printsnotdead and was also the writing topic. Students were asked if they agree that print is not dead, or if they do not agree and think print is dead. Many students agreed that print is not dead, while a few others felt that it is a dying art. There was such a great response from workshop attendees, 46 responses out of 57 attendees, that it has been incredibly difficult to narrow down ones to share. Below are a few snippets of what high school students think about print media.

“Print is not dead. Although digital media has become commonplace, an argument can be made that physical print has some advantages over digital media. Print is not dead,” Lance E.
“As someone who is dyslexic, it is easier for me to use paper, I can’t speak for everyone with this condition,” Jasmine H.

“I don’t think print is dead because there are many people who still read magazines. Unlike online news and social media, print can’t get easily hacked and because of this I think print is superior to online news,” Carlos M.

“If our internet or WiFi

ever gets cut off, it’s always print that we end up turning back to. Print is still a good way to get your information about anything,” Adri U.

“Print is simply not dead. There will always be an audience for it. Print is more meaningful than something online because it tends to be made for a certain area where their target audience is. Only time could tell us the longevity of print, but for now, print is not dead,” Anthony T.

“I think print is kind of dead because people don’t focus on stuff like that anymore, they are more focused on technology and don’t care about reading on paper. We now have apps that tell us stuff we need to know like Twitter, Tiktok, Snapchat, Instagram, and Facebook,” Hennessy S.

“I do think print is dead. At the very least it is slowly becoming irrelevant. In our modern society, what do you do if you’re worried about what is going on in the world? Maybe you pick up a newspaper or ask a friend. Why would you do that when there’s millions of articles and videos online constantly,” Corban M.

“I think print is dead, only because almost everything is digital now. You can look at stories and news now on your phone or computer. Personally, I like reading print because if I was to read something on my phone and I get a text or any notification, I’ll answer it and most likely never finish what I’m reading,” Michaleigh.

Some other thoughts about print publications include the nostalgia of flipping through a newspaper or glossy magazine, concerns about the literacy rate in the community, online assignments vs paper and pencil assignments, and the fact that some people do not have or use modern technology so still rely on print for information.

It was a pleasure to be able to have a conversation with our future leaders about the relevance of print in our lives, and ask what their opinion was. Something as simple as that sparked great conversations, and I for one, am looking forward to the next Occupation Day at CHS.

story and photos by Michele Robertson

*some quotes have been shortened for article length