At the end of each year teachers choose exceptional seniors for the Athens Oracle to highlight for Senior Spotlights. Morgan Thomas, a special programs teacher, recognized James Tobin as someone who positively represents Athens Drive.
“I have been teaching at Athens for three years, and have had James all three of those years, and I’ve seen some incredible growth from him over those three years, and I’m just really proud of where he is now,” Thomas said.
Tobin’s favorite part of high school was the Physical Education Pupil Instructors class (PEPI), where students worked with a group of Special Education students during gym class. Tobin also likes to “work out,” outside of school at the gym. He especially likes running on the treadmill.
Tobin is proud of his current internship with Kerri-Ann Ruthven, the school’s media coordinator. He helps Ruthven three days a week by doing various tasks around the library.
Tobin’s strongest skill in his library internship is “definitely his customer service. So when we’re helping a student try to troubleshoot what’s wrong with their computer, he’s learning really valuable skills about talking to people in a professional way,” Ruthven said.
Tobin is also currently working at a Bricks and Minifigs, a LEGO reseller, through an internship. At Bricks and Minifigs, he enjoys sorting through Lego donations and separates them into ‘fake LEGOs’ and real LEGOs “because it’s fun.”
“I’m proud of James, especially this year, because he’s working at Bricks and Minifigs, and it’s a program that he was a little bit nervous to start and had a little bit of anxiety around it, but he kept going, and now he loves it, and it’s gonna really prepare him for the future in getting a job,” Thomas said.
Additionally, Tobin is excited for the principal to hand him his high school completion certificate in the graduation ceremony. The following year, Tobin plans to gain more job experience through a school year of internships.
“He’s working for a program called Project SEARCH, which is for students with disabilities in their last year of high school. He’s graduating from Athens, but he has one more year of high school at Project SEARCH…“ Thomas said.
To get into the program, he filled out a paper application and was interviewed. Through Project SEARCH, Tobin will gain job skills at Embassy Suites, and clean beds and windows. In the near future, he wants to use these job skills to sort food at Publix.
Tobin also wants to go to college to have more job opportunities. After college, he wants to coach a group of adults at the gym and help them get stronger.
Tobin thinks students should start an internship or get a job during high school. By getting a job, not only can students get paid, but they can also figure out what type of jobs they would like to work in the future. He also wants students to keep their behavior in check during school.
“Don’t get in trouble,” Tobin said.
