Students Get Ready to Drive Into the Future

Trevor Walsh never thought about a career selling cars. But now that the Adolfo Camarillo High School senior has some experience, it may be something he is interested in.

Walsh and his classmates turned the school grounds into a car dealership Thursday, complete with five display cars as well as service, parts and finance departments.

“This is one of the neatest things I’ve done in high school,” said Walsh, who worked as the sales manager.

The car dealership was part of a senior-level English class that partners students with businesses--including Saturn and General Motors--to give youths a glimpse into the real world, said Delores Rawlins, who teaches Communication 2000. The class is designed to make the transition from school to work easier, she said, teaching students applicable skills in reading, writing, speaking, listening and time management.

“When you see them out here today, they’re just young professionals,” Rawlins said.

Senior Lorianna Nunez worked as a sales representative in the exercise, but plans to attend college in the fall and become a teacher. She likes that the class focuses on preparing students for the future, rather than just dealing with “verbs, nouns and Shakespeare.”

“I’m not that good at talking with people, but working in a school, I’m going to have to talk to people,” Nunez said. “This is going to help me.”

Nancy Koch, a trustee for the Oxnard Union High School District, stopped by to go through the sales process and walked away a happy customer.

“These kids are stars,” she said. “I’m so impressed. They all appear to be very confident and are extremely courteous.”