BONNERS FERRY — Doctors, lawyers and librarians were just a few of the careers eighth grade students at Boundary County Middle School presented on during the school’s annual career presentations. 

Since early February, students have been working to prepare a slide presentation on a possible career path they may want to pursue. The process involved shadowing someone for at least two hours and researching what it takes to enter that profession. 

The career presentations began several years ago and are intended to help students better understand who they are and what they may want in their future careers. 

Eighth grade teacher Kelly Hinthorn, who helped organize this year’s event, said those early introductions to life beyond middle school are important for students, especially with few nearby college options for Boundary County students. 

In total, 105 eighth graders presented on March 24 in front of a panel that included Teresa Rae, vice chair of Boundary County School District, along with teachers and community members. Each student gave an approximately five-minute presentation, followed by questions.   

Before and after students presented, they gathered in the library. 

“They encouraged one another, calmed nerves, shared hugs and celebrated with high fives and huge smiles after presenting,” Hinthorn said. “We heard comments like ‘I knocked it out of the park,’ ‘That was so much fun’ and ‘It was perfect,’ alongside thoughtful reflections such as ‘Next time I will ...’ and ‘When I do my senior project, I will.’”

In addition to the presentations, students completed questionnaires designed to suggest possible career paths based on their responses, giving them another tool to consider future options. 

Students were graded on content, slide design and appearance using a scale of 1 to 4. They were also graded on whether their presentation incorporated parts of the poem “The Road Not Taken”, which explores the choices people make in life

. Hinthorn said she plans to review the presentations with each student in the coming days to celebrate their success, reflect on their experience and set goals for their future presentations. 

The presentations focused not only on specific careers but also on future pathways, including college, trade school and military service. 

Hinthorn said her favorite part of organizing the presentations is working with students who are unsure of which path they will take.

“I just love when the kids come in, especially the ones that have absolutely no clue about what they want to do in their future,” Hinthorn said. “They can be more open-minded to different possibilities and when they find something they connect with, they get excited.” 

She also enjoys seeing students continue pursuing the goals they first identified in middle school. 

“What’s really exciting is when I see their senior projects four years later and I see that they still are following the path they talked about in eighth grade,” Hinthorn said. 

Eighth graders Gwen Marshall, Paisley Gross and Emily Hart gave presentations during the final class period of the day. 

Earlier that morning, Marshall said she felt nervous but excited to present. She shadowed staff at Boundary Community Hospital.

“I went with Janine Dixon to the hospital and I got a tour of the hospital and the clinic,” Marshall said. “I got to meet some nurses there, too.”

Gross shadowed a doctor, which she said is a profession she may want to pursue. She said she felt nervous because of how much work went into the presentation but tried to motivate herself. 

“It’s been a big build up,” Gross said. “You’re finally doing this, so you have to be ready.” 

Hart shadowed the county prosecutor. 

“I shadowed Andrakay Pluid during a court case,” Hart said. “The defendant was defending themself, so it was very interesting to watch.” 

Hinthorn said the exercise is not meant to lock students into one path, but instead to encourage them to think about future possibilities.

“It's the road not yet taken and you can take multiple paths,” Hinthorn said. “It's fun that they love it, they are excited and they're all dressed up for this one day."