‘Touch-a-Truck’ event in Morgantown looks to inspire students’ future careers

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (WBOY) — Around 600 students from North Elementary School received a visit from several organizations around Morgantown on Thursday and learned more about the different routes they could take as future careers.

Officials from places including the city's public works department, fire department, police department and Morgantown Municipal Airport stopped by for the second annual "Touch-a-Truck" event.

During the event, students got to hop on different vehicles, blare some sirens, make announcements and honk on the horn, all while learning more about the people behind the trucks they might see around town.

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"It's very important to us for the community outreach side, especially for the police and the fire department. We hope some of these young adults grow up one day to come join us in the various career fields we have around the city," Deputy Director of Engineering at Public Works Meagan Deeley said.

Students in attendance were very excited to be there and to explore these careers in a tactile way. "They might be opened up to a career that they didn't even know existed so I think it's just great and the guys have been really nice. The kids have been so appreciative and thank them, it's great, it opens up new doors," said fourth-grade teacher, Angie Harris.

Officials with the event said that the goal is to continue visiting a different school in the area each year.