Special to Pataskala Standard
\n\u00a0|\u00a0 USA TODAY NETWORK<\/p>\n
Two Licking Heights High School staff members \u2014 school counselor John Suchan and history teacher Stephen Meyer \u2014 recently traveled to Jacksonville, Florida, for the U.S. Navy\u2019s Educators Orientation. This is a unique program designed to immerse educators in Navy life, careers and opportunities.<\/p>\n
The trip offered Suchan and Meyer a behind-the-scenes look at the Navy\u2019s mission, structure and day-to-day operations. It also gave them valuable insights into how the Navy \u2014 along with other branches of the military \u2014 can open doors to meaningful career paths for Licking Heights students.<\/p>\n
The two-day tour began at Mayport Naval Base, where the educators boarded the USS Wichita. There, they met with officers, including the ship\u2019s chief, who shared personal stories of service, growth and leadership.<\/p>\n
That afternoon, the group visited the Airwolves HSM-40 Helicopter Squadron, learning about the advanced training required for flight crews and stepping into the cockpit for hands-on exploration. Suchan said a highlight was piloting a simulated battleship.<\/p>\n
On day two, the team headed to Jacksonville Naval Base, touring the P-8 Poseidon aircraft. These highly specialized 737s are equipped with radar for submarine tracking. Sitting in the cockpit and hearing firsthand about the training pipeline gave Suchan and Meyer a new perspective on the depth of skills involved in Navy aviation.<\/p>\n
The orientation also showcased other vital parts of the Navy\u2019s mission. Suchan and Meyer toured sailors\u2019 living quarters and dining facilities, visited the Naval Hospital (including its Physical Therapy Department) and even explored the Navy\u2019s entomology unit, where scientists study insects to protect military personnel worldwide.<\/p>\n
Suchan said the trip was both fast-paced and informative, noting that it expanded his understanding of the Navy\u2019s vast career spectrum \u2014 from STEM and technical fields to leadership and health care roles.<\/p>\n
Both educators left the trip eager to connect students with the opportunities they saw. Plans are already underway to:<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d love for our students to see these possibilities up close and realize that the Navy could be an exciting and fulfilling pathway for them,\u201d Suchan said.<\/p>\n
Suchan said that his ultimate goal for the Educators Orientation Visit was understanding the Navy as a community and a career option, and sharing this information with students. He hopes to inspire students to think broadly about their futures, whether that means serving their country, pursuing advanced technical training or exploring leadership roles in high-stakes environments.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Navy is more than a career \u2014 it\u2019s a way to grow, challenge yourself and make a difference,\u201d Suchan said.<\/p>\n
Information submitted by Licking Heights Local Schools.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Special to Pataskala Standard \u00a0|\u00a0 USA TODAY NETWORK Two Licking Heights High School staff members \u2014 school counselor…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":198710,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5136],"tags":[3066,5229,7830,1074,6421,27062,3188,723,1075,24015,17353,7310,110126,110129,110128,425,5502,4603,450,1457,110127,1451,3063,3072,11645,3065,3060,3064,3161,646,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-198709","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-jacksonville","8":"tag-k-12","9":"tag-america","10":"tag-autopilot","11":"tag-exclude","12":"tag-exclude-from-newsletters","13":"tag-exclude-social-autopilot","14":"tag-fl","15":"tag-florida","16":"tag-from","17":"tag-heights","18":"tag-high","19":"tag-jacksonville","20":"tag-licking","21":"tag-licking-heights-high-school","22":"tag-licking-heights-local-schools","23":"tag-local","24":"tag-navy","25":"tag-newsletters","26":"tag-overall","27":"tag-overall-positive","28":"tag-pataskala","29":"tag-positive","30":"tag-primary","31":"tag-primary-u0026-secondary-schooling-k-12","32":"tag-school","33":"tag-schooling","34":"tag-schools","35":"tag-secondary","36":"tag-social","37":"tag-u0026","38":"tag-united-states","39":"tag-united-states-of-america","40":"tag-unitedstates","41":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","42":"tag-us","43":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198709","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=198709"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198709\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/198710"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=198709"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=198709"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=198709"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}