When I Grow Up…

As the holiday season abounds and families once again gathering together, the inevitable question arises, especially to those whose academic level will soon place them on the path to high school graduation. “What do you want to do or study when you graduate?” Presented as a part of common dialogue in family gatherings, most adults rarely pause to think how monumental a question that is to ask.

However, given that children have been busy being students, following directions given to them, and orders directed at them, and lessons focused on finite details, it is not surprising that many students do not exactly know what they want to be when they grow up. In all reality, how could someone who has never actually had the opportunity or the training or the understanding to take on a career possibly know exactly what he wants to do? Therefore, the question is often answered, with a major to be studied, an area of interest, or the ever popular, “I’m not sure.” Ironically, the unsure answer is most likely the most honest answer. However, somehow students feel as if they’ve failed Society 101 if they cannot immediately craft a clever response sure to make the adults smile and nod their heads at the answer.

What one plans to be when he grows up is, in many instances, quite different from what he imagined early in his academic career. Given that a majority of kindergarten boys may wish to become race car drivers or wrestlers, this career path does not prove realistic for many students. Furthermore, given that becoming a rock star is also popular response, the evidences indicate that this is also a dramatically less frequent outcome than imagined. The reality is that it is important to encourage students to consider studying something special, something that they are excited about, and something that will give them inspiration. It is not all about limiting their options to merely those pursuits known to realize good financial outcomes in 2021. The world job market has changed dramatically over the past 20 years and early indicators are that it will continue to change at a pace never before witnessed. According to Forbes, “The future job market will be radically different—almost alien—to what we have now. There are a waves-of-forces that will significantly change the way we work and the type of jobs we hold. The rapid ascension of sophisticated technology, global connectedness and a confluence of other factors will make the workforce of the future almost unrecognizable.”

How could students truly know what they want to become with certainty, given the most uncertain job market predictions? The reality is that students of today, posturing to become leaders of tomorrow, are best encouraged to focus on something or a set of skills where they find inspiration and motivation, to an area where they can imagine themselves contributing. In detailed and data based article by Mckinsey.com, types of jobs were analyzed based on their growth potential in different areas of the world. The outcomes were most interesting, with nearly nine percent of the jobs in entirely new occupations by 2030. Significant increases in job availability are expected in creative fields, technology, construction, and teaching, in addition to modest growth in professional positions. However, overshadowing all markets will be an expanding need for healthcare providers.

What one plans to become when he grows up often changes, based on additional exposures to new opportunities and skills and information. Based on an abundance of data from a variety of sources, the future job market will impact not only today’s students planning on tomorrow but on today’s workers who may also have to reimagine their skills, interests, and abilities to ensure that what they remain marketable in this most unchartered of future economies. What do you want to be when you grow up or what career do you have planned? Perhaps that’s a question for everyone at the family gathering, not just the children…

Sea turtle at Mississippi Aquarium inspires musical

GULFPORT — A sea turtle at the Mississippi Aquarium has inspired a musical.

The green sea turtle Banner was the inspiration behind, “Banner: A Sea Turtle Saga,” an original children’s musical put on by theater students from Mississippi State University.

It debuted at Mississippi State earlier this month and was performed on Monday at the Mississippi Aquarium in Gulfport.

The show, written by Mississippi State Associate Professor of Communications Tonya Hays and marine scientist and Northern Gulf Institute Education and Outreach Director Jonathan Harris, tells the story of Banner and his sea-creature friends who go on an underwater adventure. The story teaches about the dangers marine animals face due to plastic pollution, oil spills and climate change.

Banner was rescued in Florida after being severely injured by a boat propeller. The green sea turtle is the world’s largest species of hard-shelled turtle. It is a threatened species in U.S. Atlantic waters, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The show featured student performers wearing puppets of various marine life designed by Mississippi coast theater veteran Tim Baker, of Gulfport. Baker, a professional sculptor, propmaker and special effects artist, has worked with Marvel Studios and Universal Orlando on multiple film projects.

“We are increasingly concerned about the influence of human activity on the Gulf’s marine ecosystems. For instance, tons of plastic waste end up in the Gulf, killing or harming sea life and changing marine ecosystems,” Harris told WLOX-TV. “We need to inform and inspire the next generation to help us conserve, protect and restore the Gulf to protect our health, quality of life, and survival.”

Mississippi unveils mobile ID program -- an app for phones

OCEAN SPRINGS — Mississippi is unveiling a new app that’s designed to store someone’s driver license on their phone.

The app is being billed as a safe and effective way to make sure your ID is always on you, WLOX-TV reported.

However, state officials say people will still need a physical driver license to show if requested when they are stopped by law enforcement. Another exception listed on the program’s website is boarding an airplane.

Still, there’s a “growing list” of businesses and state agencies that accept the Mississippi Mobile ID, state officials said.

“Vendors can accept the Mobile ID with confidence, as information on the digital ID can be verified against what is on file with the Department of Public Safety and will always be accurate and up-to-date,” the program’s website states.

Residents’ information is secure and can only be accessed with their fingerprint or face ID, officials with the

Department of Public Safety said.

“One less thing for me to carry and lose,” Mike Davis told WLOX.

Mississippi Mobile ID is voluntary, and residents may continue relying on their physical ID.

Some residents interviewed by the TV station prefer to continue relying on their physical ID.

“At the end of the day, we already have so much of our personal data on our phones anyway that I think that we kind of need to keep a little bit off of our phones,” said Nick Fain of Ocean Springs. Fain said he prefers the physical card he keeps in his wallet.

More information about the program is available at https://www.driverservicebureau.dps.ms.gov/mobileid/

2 Louisiana wrecks kill 7 in 24 hours; 5 not belted in

RACELAND, La. — Two wrecks in 24 hours have killed seven people, including five who weren’t belted in and were ejected from vehicles, Louisiana State Police said.

Four people died and two were injured when a Mississippi woman failed to yield to oncoming traffic and a pickup truck hit her car and overturned about 5 p.m. Thursday, Louisiana State Police said Friday.

About 5 p.m. Wednesday, two adults and a baby were thrown from a compact car that crossed a median and collided with an SUV and a pickup truck.

Two occupants of the Ford F-250 that hit the Mississippi woman’s Kia Optima were ejected when the truck flipped over about 5 p.m. Thursday just east of Raceland, a news release said.

Those killed in that crash were identified as Barbara Guidry, 54, and Catlin Leboeuf, 35, both of Wiggins, Mississippi, and Dustin Moore, 31, and Michelle Moore, 30, both of Raceland.

Guidry had stopped at a stop sign on Louisiana Highway 182 but then failed to yield to the truck coming down U.S. 90, police said. She and Leboeuf were wearing seat belts.

A front passenger in the Kia suffered moderate injuries and a rear passenger in the Ford suffered minor injuries, Trooper Ross Brennan said in an email. Both were properly restrained, the news release said.

Police said Angela Wilkins, 52, and Keayette Wilkens, 31; and 10-month-old Jacon Wilkens, all of Laplace, died Wednesday on U.S. 61 near Gramercy.

State police said Keayette Wilkens was driving south when her Chevrolet Cruze crossed the median, hit a Kia Telluride SUV and was hit by a Toyota Tacoma.

Police said the other two drivers were properly restrained and suffered minor injuries.

Attorney wins state senate seat in eastern Mississippi

MERIDIAN — An attorney won a seat in the state senate representing eastern Mississippi during a special election Tuesday.

According to

complete,

but unofficial returns, Rod Hickman won the runoff against optometrist Dr. Minh Duong, getting 60% of the vote, to represent Senate District 32, WTOK-TV reported. Senate District 32 includes all of Kemper County and parts

of Lauderdale, Noxubee and Winston counties.

The seat became vacant when Democratic Sen. Sampson Jackson stepped down June 30. Jackson said he was ready to retire after a long career in state government, which included 29 years in Senate after more than 10 years with the Department of Transportation.

Special elections are nonpartisan in Mississippi, meaning that candidates’ party affiliations do not appear on the ballot. However, Hickman received endorsements from multiple Democratic political leaders, including Jackson. As a lawmaker, Hickman said he will advocate for expanding Medicaid to keep rural hospitals open and expanding

broadband internet.

The legislative session begins in January.

Hickman’s term will expire in early 2024.

Jackson leaders approve pay hikes for water system workers

JACKSON — Jackson city leaders have approved a plan

to increase pay for workers at its water plant.

Jackson City Council members on Tuesday approved the plan aimed at shoring up the workforce for the aging water system, WJTV reported.

The goal is to implement the pay increases by the end of 2021.

Water outages have bedeviled Mississippi’s capital city in recent months. Jackson residents lost water service for weeks after freezing temperatures in February, and those with running water had to boil it because of the danger of contamination.

It was one of multiple times that residents lost water service or had to boil water due to low pressure in the system.