ERIK SANZENBACH / L’Observateur / February 5, 2000

LAPLACE – Around the country Feb. 2 is Groundhog Day. It is also NationalGroundhog Job Shadowing Day, where high school students stick their heads into the real world and see where their shadows may point.

The idea is for a student to follow a professional around for a day and see what goes into a certain career. If the student observes what happens in thereal world, they will have a better idea of what they should do to prepare for the working world.

“A lot of students really don’t know what direction they want to go,” explains Annette Houston, business computer applications teacher at East St. JohnHigh School and supervisor of the job shadowing program. “The purpose ofjob shadowing is to show a student the options that are out there for a career.”This is the second year St. John Parish schools have participated in theprogram, and Houston feels it really helps the students choose what they want to do in life.

“This year we focused on careers in the government,” says Houston.

East St. John High School sent students to look at careers in the offices ofthe parish assessor, the parish president and the parish sheriff. Next year,Houston plans to focus on careers in finance.

On this day Brandon Brown, a junior at East St. John, is “shadowing”Community Relations Officer Lt. Greg Maurin of the St. John Parish Sheriff’sOffice.

By 9 a.m. Brown and Maurin have met the morning shift of street officers,visited St. Joan of Arc School for a crime-fighting lecture and gone to EastSt. John High to take pictures of a presentation of money raised for theUnited Way.

“One thing I have learned so far,” says Brown, “is that Lt. Maurin is a verybusy man.”Walking past the parish council chambers, Maurin spots a lady sitting at the parish president’s table and urges Brown into the room.

Maurin introduces Brown to Jerrie St. Martin, legislative assistant to U.S.Rep. Billy Tauzin. St. Martin sits Brown down and tells him about her job helping people whoneed Tauzin’s attention. She says most people she talks to are in need ofhelp with the Social Security system, and she is there to straighten out the twists and turns of the Social Security bureaucracy for citizens.

Brown pays very close attention to what St. Martin has to say. This seemsto be what he is really interested in.

“I want to help people by being part of the government, ” he says later.

The pair now goes to Sheriff Wayne Jones’ office. While waiting for theSheriff, Lt. Mike Tregre, public information officer, comes in and startstelling Brown about his job which is keeping the community and the media informed of the department’s activities.

“We really want to expose the students to the wide range of assignments that are available within the department,” says Tregre.

Sheriff Jones comes out and greets Brown and Maurin, and they go into his office.

The sheriff tells Brown that working in the Sheriff’s Department is a great opportunity.

“This is a very rewarding career,” Jones tells Brown. “Police work is neverroutine or boring.”The sheriff advises Brown to go on to college, learn computers and get a degree in criminal psychology or criminal justice if he wants to go into law enforcement.

“We expect professional behavior from our deputies,” says Jones. “I expectall my men to be courteous and polite to the public. And, because they haveto deal with the criminal element, they should also have some backbone.”But, the sheriff warns that law-enforcement is not short-term employment.

“We want people who are here for a career.” Jones says.After visiting the sheriff Maurin takes Brown over the radio room on the opposite end of the Percy Hebert Building. They enter the quiet, dimly-litroom and watch three people at state-of-the-art electronic consoles take 9- 1-1 calls and dispatch police and fire.

Dispatcher Christy Chauvin shows Brown the different computer screens and equipment that is part of her job.

“It’s really amazing,” says Maurin. “These people are in this little room awayfrom everybody, and yet they know everything that is going on in the parish.”After the radio room Maurin leads Brown to the records room and introduces him to the employees who keep track of everything that is recorded. Oneperson takes care of accident reports, another handles all the arrests made, somebody else enters crime statistics into a computer and another person handles warrants. Overseeing this is data processing manager Kenny Oubre,who is also the web master for the Sheriff’s Office web site.

Brown is really impressed with this. Houston, his teacher, has beeninstructing him on the business applications of computers, and here he see it all in action.

Back outside the Sheriff’s office, Brown reflects on his tour.

“It’s been very helpful, ” he says. “I didn’t know there were so many thingsinvolved in law enforcement.”Maurin asks Brown if he would like to become a policeman. Brown thinksabout it a second.

“I think I would like to make the rules and the laws,” he says, smiling.

“Enforcing them isn’t really my thing.”Brown says he would either like to run for office or work in some capacity in government.

Maurin nods.

“Well I do recommend law enforcement as a career,” he says. “It does have abroad range of things to do.”He looks at Brown. “Just keep it on your list as an option.” Brown agrees, and they walk off to go take a look at the jail.

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