Booneville Career Coach Impressed by ‘Gold Mine’ of Local Opportunities

Hope Harrelson helps high school students find their way to rewarding futures

Many Booneville residents know Hope Harrelson from her former career as a pharmacist, but new generations are getting to know her as a career coach at Booneville High School. 

“I was a pharmacist for 24 years, and when I retired, I wanted to do something different,” Harrelson said. “My son went to this high school, and I had connections with many of his teachers—they knew I’d be a hard worker. I love being a career coach and helping students.”

Harrelson is one of nearly 180 career coaches deployed into Mississippi high schools by AccelerateMS, the state’s lead workforce development office. Career coaches help students chart career paths based on their goals and interests, whether it’s continuing their education, entering the workforce, enlisting in the military or pursuing a combination of options.

Career coaches also build relationships with employers to create jobs and internships, job shadows and networking opportunities. Local and area employers include Acco Brands, Marathon Cheese, Williams-Sonoma Inc.’s Sutter Street South Manufacturing, North American Pipe Corp., Northrop Grumman and Toyota, among others. 

“We’re sitting on a gold mine of what students can do next,” Harrelson said. “We have strong industries in our area, and we’re also extremely lucky to have Northeast Mississippi Community College in our city. They work very well with students, and many graduates can continue their areas of study at NMCC and get their certifications.” 

Harrelson recounted a student who wanted to enter the workforce after high school and had started a job in April just before graduation. A few weeks later, the student returned to her office after he’d thought more about his future.

“He really liked his employer and could see himself working there a long time, but he wanted to learn how to fix the machines he was working on,” she said. “He decided to enroll in a program at NMCC, so we spent a day at the campus getting everything in order for him to attend classes, and thanks to the timing, he didn’t miss out on freshman scholarships.”

Harrelson partners with Booneville High School’s college and career readiness instructors to ensure that all students have work experiences before graduation, including job shadowing, interviewing industry professionals and visiting local businesses. 

“A few of our students are interested in sports medicine, so I arranged visits with the high school athletic trainer, a local physical therapy clinic and the head trainer at NMCC,” she said. “There’s also a hospital here that allows students to do job shadows. I have lots of connections from my health care career that I’ve been able to use as a career coach. I want to benefit students in any way I can.”

In her career coaching role, Harrelson is responsible for around 400 students in grades 9-12. Since Booneville High School and Middle School share a cafeteria and commons area, she extends her outreach to students in lower grades – essentially doubling her audience.

“I do a career spotlight in the commons area every two weeks that includes a quiz and prizes,” she said. “For each career, like respiratory therapy, students can read about what they do, the education requirements, salary ranges and related jobs. If a student likes math, they can learn about career options for people with strong math skills. It gets them thinking about what they’re good at and how they can turn that into a career.”

Being a career coach also has heightened Harrelson’s awareness of local career pathways and the variety of choices available for today’s high school graduates. Helping students connect the dots between high school and a great future has been a rewarding experience for Harrelson that includes a touch of community pride. 

“I’ve enjoyed the industry tours as much as the students have,” she said. “Factories are not what people in my generation may have perceived them to be. They’re clean and highly technical, and a lot of industry jobs are brain jobs, not labor jobs. I’ve loved learning about all the businesses here and showing students everything that Booneville has to offer.”

AccelerateMS serves the people and businesses of Mississippi by developing and deploying workforce strategies to connect individuals with transformative, high-paying careers. By leveraging resources and partnering with organizations that hold complementary missions, AccelerateMS effectuates positive change, creating sustained individual, community, and statewide economic prosperity.

Learn more at www.coaches.acceleratems.org/.