When Adam Carter-Bey goes back to high school every day, it’s no longer as a JAG student, but the lessons learned in Elizabeth Mangen’s Hammond Central High School class reverberate in all the work he does.
Carter-Bey has parlayed the skills learned in JAG to a career in the construction field, where ironically, he walks the halls of Hammond again as a graduate of the 2021 class and with his tool belt, working for a construction company on a project in that very school.
His journey back to school and through JAG happened almost by accident.
“I was kind of just enrolled in (JAG). I needed an elective. I didn’t really do anything and I needed an elective and that just happened to be there. I didn’t want to take another language class and (JAG) counted,” Carter-Bey said.
Some of the key skills Carter-Bey learned were goal-setting, time management, professionalism, communication, and how to conduct an interview. He also attended the State Career Development Conference (CDC) his junior year, where he learned career lessons from guest speakers.
“(I learned) I can manage my adult lifestyle, the professional side of life better, jobs and stuff like that,” Carter-Bey said. “Knowing how to speak to bosses or telling them about certain things. Really just being professional when I have to be, (JAG) definitely helps a lot.”
Carter-Bey quickly found joy beyond the content of the JAG classroom through the relationships he made. He formed friendships and a strong bond with Mangan, his Specialist during his senior year.
“Miss M., we had a working relationship when I started, even when I was out of school and even after I graduated. It has been over a year and I still talk to her, get advice and all of that stuff,” Carter-Bey said.
After graduating, he began working at Steak ‘n Shake to make extra money, but then landed an opportunity well beyond what he imagined. He was offered an internship in August 2021 as Construction Manager with the Skillman Corporation in Merrillville.
“I kind of fell into my lap [ . . . ] I was looking for a trade ever since I started JAG. One day, a project manager said, `Why don’t you see the paperwork side and how you like it, so you can see all the trades and make a decision?’” Carter-Bey said.
Carter-Bey has been with the company for almost a year. His role consists of the engineering and paperwork side of construction. In his current project at his old high school, he now runs into Mangan as a success story and employee, rather than a student.
“It is so nice that he is working with this construction company, because then I get to see him. I don’t always get to see the other kids. He is the best. Now, I know his dad and I am going to have his little brother in my class this year,” Mangan said,
Carter-Bey is excited about his future with Skillman Corporation. He attributes part of his success to the skills he learned in JAG and anticipates using those skills as his future continues.
“If I didn’t have JAG, I definitely would have left or found something temporary. This is a career I think. (JAG) definitely helped me,” Carter-Bey said.
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