One of the Vicksburg Warren School District’s favorite mantras is the goal that every senior will graduate ready to be enrolled in college, employed in the workforce, enlisted in the military or be an entrepreneur starting a business.

The commitment to the four E’s drives every decision the district makes, namely the introduction of the career academies at the high schools, the creation of River City Early College and the continued expansion of the career and technical education programs.

This week the CTE program took a big step toward preparing students for life after high school by setting up mock job interviews for its students.

“I interviewed each student, even though they are in a particular program out here, to find out what their career plans were,” said JoAnn Oliver, VWSD student service coordinator. “I try to match them with somebody in the community in that field. Not only do I want them to be interviewed, I want them to get some feedback from someone in their career.”

Oliver said more than 80 students participated in the interviews. They started the program last year after seeing something similar done in Mobile, Alabama, during a tour.

“It went really well. I was really confident, it was smooth, just like I was talking to a friend,” Grayson Shealy, a senior at Warren Central, said. “She wanted to know why I wanted to go into the field. What college I wanted to go to, what skills I have, what was my biggest failure, my biggest success and just examples like that.”

Walking into an interview for the first time can be a nerve racking experience, but now thanks to this program senior graduating from Vicksburg and Warren Central will be more prepared whether they are going to college and looking for a part-time job or planning to enter the workforce full-time after graduation.