North Carolina Department of Correction News - DOC employees see shadows on Ground Hog Day

RALEIGH — Groundhog Punxsutawney Phil may not have seen his shadow on Feb. 2, but seven DOC employees saw theirs. In fact, they spent quite a bit of time with their shadows showing them what it’s like to work for one of the state’s largest government agencies.

Tracy Little of NC DOC Citizen Services and students

Participating in the second annual National Groundhog Job Shadow Day, DOC employees Evon Arnold, Sue Rouse, Gail Harrington, Larry Rhodes, Tracey Little, Larry Bergman and Yvonne Lloyd took time out of their busy schedules to show 12 students from Mary Phillips High School what working for DOC is all about.

By observing the employees in action, the students were able to see how skills learned in school are put to use each day on the job. In addition, they also learned how to conduct a job search and how to interview for jobs in state government.

Karen Campbell with the department’s human resource office organized DOC’s participation in Groundhog Job Shadow Day and said the students really benefited from their time spent with the DOC employees.

"The students were really excited, and I heard several comment that they would love to have a job in DOC," she said. "(Purchasing Director) Larry Rhodes’ shadow, Timothy Robinson, couldn't get over learning that there was a disputed bill for bread - $39,000 dollars worth!"

Groundhog Job Shadow Day was started by the Boston Private Industry Council in 1996 and has continued to grow each year. An estimated 500,000 students participated in this year’s program. u