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Wow Factor Helps Students Choose Career Paths
With this welding simulator, students are able to virtually weld, see the results of their efforts and get guidance from the teacher. In Southeast Alabama, job availability is outpacing employers’ ability to fill positions. With an area unemployment rate of just 2.6%, there are about 2 jobs for every one jobseeker. Sometimes it can be even 3 or 4 jobs, depending on the location. That amounts to a ton of opportunity but not enough skilled labor to fill those openings.
These statistics, provided by Southeast AlabamaWorks Executive Director Katie Thomas, have her organization working harder than ever to link employers with potential employees, including those who have not yet embarked on their career paths. One way Thomas’ group is doing this is through the WOW factor — the Southeast Worlds of Work career fairs, 2 annual events that bring together thousands of 10th and 12th-grade students with area companies.
The 2-day WOW events bring in students from the 10-county area served by Southeast AlabamaWorks, called Region 6, with a West WOW fair held in Andalusia and an East WOW fair in Dothan. This year, West WOW brought together 2,500 students on January 24 and 25 at Andalusia’s Kiwanis Fairgrounds, and the East WOW on February 14 and 15 drew 2,900 students to the National Peanut Festival facility in Dothan. In all, that’s 5,400 students with access to about 300 potential employers, Thomas says.
Each company or vendor at the events has a booth with interactive displays. Among these are PowerSouth Energy Cooperative, the electricity provider for South Alabama Electric Cooperative and 19 other distribution members, as well as serving as 1 of WOW’s biggest supporters. PowerSouth’s hands-on demonstrations, including poles set up and equipped just for the display, have earned recognition as the most interactive booth.
“WOW is a very hands-on career fair,” Thomas says. “The students can test-drive a career that’s available here locally. This event is an opportunity to show an entire generation what opportunities there are if they stay here. We can show these young people that they don’t have to leave home to have great jobs and to have high-paying jobs right here in their backyard.”
This is the second year the WOW career fairs, which began in 2016, have involved 10th and 12th grade students. Previous attendees were 8th graders. “We used to bring all 8th graders in because in 8th grade we could make those impressions on students before they selected their career pathways in ninth grade,” Thomas says. “But business and industry really asked us for older students and wanted to be connected with students that they could potentially hire after high school. So we swapped and went to 12th grade, and we also do the 10th graders so they can set up co-op and internship opportunities.”
Technical Direction
Southeast AlabamaWorks still reaches out to 8th graders, but it’s done at the schools instead of as an off-site career fair. The group takes virtual reality headsets to students in their classrooms, where they use VR as a captivating tool for career exploration.
Immersion in technology is also highly visible at the WOW fairs. Students can be seen staring at their cellphones as they walk among the vendor booths, but they likely are not looking at social media. Each student and vendor is given access to an app that helps them navigate the fair and provides a direct connection between employers and potential employees.
“When the students come in, they’re told that they’re going to go to 2 different buildings and experience different industries within each building,” Thomas says. “They’re encouraged to spend all their time interacting with the booths. Through an app we use called Career Fair Plus, each vendor has a QR code on their table, and each student has registered in the app ahead of time and has their resume uploaded. They can scan a QR code and drop their resume to employers they’re interested in, and on the back end of it, we share that information with the employers.”
The range of industries and careers represented at WOW is staggering, from medical to agricultural, construction to utilities, and just about everything in between. The common thread is the need for skilled employees. Southeast AlabamaWorks is trying hard to not only provide access to those potential employees but to also keep them in the region once they are no longer students.
“Southeast Worlds of Work is incredibly important to business and industry in our local communities because it’s a way to connect companies with their future employees and make an impression on young people who haven’t Agriculture Automotive Aviation Construction building science Health sciences Hospitality Manufacturing Media and IT Public service and military Transportation and logistics Utilities With this welding simulator, students are able to virtually weld, see the results of their efforts and get guidance from the teacher. decided what path to take yet,” Thomas says. “So, this is extremely important, not only to show them the jobs that are available but to retain that talent in our local community so we can thrive here. We want them to stay here.
“We fully believe in this event,” she adds. “It’s just a small portion of the work we do, but the main objective is to make sure people in Southeast Alabama can hire the best people.”
As a nonprofit, Southeast Alabama-Works gets its direction from the Department of Commerce and the governor’s office. “We have certain things we have to do to meet our metrics for the state of Alabama,” Thomas says. “Having this event used to be 1 of those things, but it’s not something we’re required to do anymore. Now we do it because we fully believe in this event and the opportunities it presents for our young people.”
While students are the focus at the WOW career fairs, Southeast Alabama-Works also has a program that takes teachers to visit area employers. “When we educate our teachers about the opportunities, they pass that along to the students,” Thomas says. “Students sometimes even educate their own families and parents about it, and there’s this trickle-down effect.
“Our main objective is to make sure that businesses in Southeast Alabama can hire the most qualified people,” she says. “So we’re just trying to make sure that happens in a number of ways. This interaction with high school students is only a small drop of what we do.”
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Rylee Austin’s Music Career Is on the Rise
Rylee Austin performs at The Troubadour in Nashville. Photo by Goldy Locks Rylee Austin has seen a thing or 2 that’s inspired her music career. While she worked a variety of jobs over the years — from corrections officer to bail bond agent — music always called to her. 1 day, she decided to trade in in her pink handcuffs and purple Glock for a guitar and a microphone. Now, armed with a record deal and a fan following, Austin’s dreams are coming true every time she steps onto a stage.
A Honky-Tonk Girl
Austin, a graduate of Luverne High School, grew up idolizing country music superstars George Strait, Reba McEntire, Loretta Lynn, and Wynnona Judd, to name just a few. Austin had a black acoustic guitar, just like Judd.
She began playing guitar when she was 9 and was performing with bands at 18. Local musician Robbin McCombs, whom she affectionately calls “Pops,” taught her to play guitar. “Pops really took me under his wing, especially when my dad died when I was 18,” she says.
She remembers listening to country music with her dad, Gerald Andrews when she was growing up. “He always loved country music, but my mom didn’t,” she says.
Even though her mother, Kathy Gonsalves, didn’t prefer country music, she took her 11-year-old daughter to the Hank Williams Festival in Georgiana to hear country icon Loretta Lynn. Austin recalls a woman standing near her at the concert staring at her.
“My mom asked her if there was a problem and she said, ‘Not at all. I’ve just never seen anyone that young who knows every word to Loretta Lynn’s songs,’” says Austin, explaining that seeing Lynn on stage stoked a fire within her.
“That’s the exact moment I knew I wanted to pursue music when I grew up,” she says.
Rylee Austin grew up admiring artists like George Strait, Reba McEntire, Loretta Lynn and Wynonna Judd. Photo by Cheyenne Kendrick, Kendrick Photography As a young adult, Austin decided to pursue a career in law enforcement while still playing music on the weekends. She worked as a corrections officer in Crenshaw County and also worked as a deputy sheriff. The deputy sheriff position wasn’t a paying gig, she did it to gain experience in hopes of eventually attending the law enforcement academy.
Wanting to try something new, and equipped with her colorful handcuffs and sidearm, she began working as a bail bond agent, which led to bounty hunting. “If we had someone skip their court date in the company, the boss would call me and I would go find them. I loved it, it was so much fun,” Austin says.
She loved her work, but couldn’t scratch the itch that propelled her toward her music. “No matter what I’ve done in life, I always come back to music,” she says.
So, 1 day shy of her 3-year anniversary in law enforcement, she decided to leave it behind and pursue music full time. “I finally just sat down 1 day and looked at my pay, did the math and realized that I could make more money over a long weekend of music gigs than I was making at my job,” she says.
A Star Is Born
Austin loves playing for a crowd, whether it’s at a small bar or in front of bigger crowds like the Hank Williams Festival, Georgiana City Fest or Festival at the Well in Glenwood. Eventually, she got the attention of Nashville-based label Grace Records, whom she signed with in February 2023.
“I’m still not sure how they found out about me, but they reached out,” she says. “At first I was skeptical because nothing has ever worked out in the past with labels.” Austin went to hear what the label representatives had to say and had a really good gut feeling about moving forward with the deal. “It’s felt like home for the last year,” she says.
Austin is a storyteller. Whether she’s singing a song or reflecting on her bounty-hunting days, she enthralls her audiences. She says her songwriting process is the fun part. “I usually have to get really ticked off about something to write a song. I don’t necessarily get mad about a boy, I get mad at a situation,” she says.
"No matter what I’ve done in life, I always come back to music,” she says.
Take the song “Backseat to the Bottle,” for instance. That was a phrase she said to an ex-boyfriend during an argument. “It came out of my mouth, then I was like, ‘Wait a second, I need to write that down,’” she says, laughing. “A lot of my songs come from 1-liners and I just write everything down.”
Rylee Austin is a singer/songwriter who is making a name for herself in the country music scene. Photo by Cheyenne Kendrick, Kendrick Photography Almost every song on Austin’s album, “My Side,” was written by her and inspired by her own life experiences. She says it’s hard to choose a favorite, but it would probably be “I Love Her More,” a song she wrote about how much she loves her daughter.
Writing comes naturally to Austin, but she has not always enjoyed performing in front of audiences.
The first time she ever performed with a band was because Pops tricked her.
“I used to have terrible stage fright,” she says. When she was 18 Pops decided it was time for her to start getting comfortable on a stage performing to an audience.
1 day, she came over to Pops’ house for her guitar lesson, and he told her she was going to rehearse with a band that day. The other musicians were there, waiting for Austin, and she settled in and began singing Patsy Cline’s “Walkin’ After Midnight.” Suddenly, people begin walking into the house. Pops had coordinated with about 10 people to hide out until Austin began singing and then came in to be her audience.
“I was terrified,” she says. But, determined to help break her of her stage fright, Pops told her to keep playing. “I was like a deer in headlights, but I made it through,” she says.
Austin has come a long way since then, performing for large crowds at a variety of venues. She has been the opening act for musicians like Jeff Bates, Shane Owens, Taylor Austin Dye, Ashton Shepherd, and Bryan Martin.
No matter where she goes, Austin will never forget her roots and how far she has come. She says it’s still a surreal experience when people recognize her in public and they mention their favorite song she wrote.
And her all-time favorite song? “You Ain’t Woman Enough” by Loretta Lynn, of course. “I used to belt that song at the top of my lungs as a kid about some man I didn’t even have yet,” she says with a laugh.
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12-year-old Lou Lou Thompson began her career in showmanship when she won the Pike County champion showman award at 3 years old with her goat. Photo by Melissa Gaines She’s only 12 years old, but Lou Lou Thompson already has more awards under her belt than most people could ever imagine.
She started amassing honors as a 3-year-old, when she won the Pike County Champion Showman Award with her goat. The following year, she started showing miniature Hereford cattle and won the county showmanship award again.
“She's super competitive and she works really hard to be good at what she does,” says Lou Lou’s mother, Ammie Thompson. “She's won the county show the last four years, and then she won the Alabama Supreme Breeding Heifer Award in 2022 with a Hereford heifer.”
Lou Lou took her winning streak national in last July. Competing against more than 200 other kids, who had brought nearly 2,000 Hereford cattle to the VitaFerm Junior National Hereford Expo in Madison, Wisconsin, Lulu earned sixth place.
“It was like all my hard work just paid off at that moment,” Lou Lou says. “All the years that I have worked for it just paid off. I was about to cry because I was so happy that I won.”
“It was probably one of the biggest moments in her life,” Ammie adds. “She’s won a lot, and her cows have won a lot, but to win at that level is a huge accomplishment.”
With so much success this early, the sky’s the limit for Lou Lou. She gratefully credits support from her parents, Ammie and Derrick, who have a wealth of experience with cattle themselves.
A Winning Pedigree
Cattle industry observers quickly learn it takes more than hard work on the part of the handlers to win. Cattle genetics and a caring approach for the animal also make a tremendous difference. Luckily for Lou Lou, not only do her cows have good genetics, showing cattle is in her genes, too.
“I had a neighbor who showed cattle,” Ammie says. “When I was 8 years old, my dad sold him a calf, and I started showing cattle because I loved being there on the farm.”
Learning tips and tricks from Ammie, a previous champion herself, and Derrick, a fifth-generation cattle farmer, helped Lou Lou to build a connection with her own animals.
During her time showing animals, Lou Lou has won many titles and awards. Photo by Melissa Gaines “She and her heifer had a real big bond,” Ammie says. “When she first started showing the heifer it was a little wild. Lou Lou actually got disqualified from one show because the heifer got loose from her three times. It wasn’t always a pretty process, but as they worked it out, they really bonded and learned from each other.”
Creating the bond means Lou Lou puts in in long days on her parents’ 300- acre farm, Thompson Cattle Company, in Pike County.
Most people aren’t exposed to cattle anywhere else, so it’s a good way to teach people about beef and cattle.” – Ammie Thompson
“We start every morning at 5:30 a.m., and we pull cows in the barn to start feeding them,” Ammie says. “When Lou Lou gets home from school, we pull them out and we have big blow dryers to blow their hair out, and then walk and exercise them. Then she pulls them into a wash rack, combs their hair, blows it back out and by then it's time to feed them again. When it’s about 8:30 p.m., we turn them out to the field. It makes for some very long days.”
While the days are long, the Thompson family, which also includes 13-year-old Asa, gladly accepts the challenge as a way to share their calling with others.
“We just love cattle,” Ammie says. “We take care of the animals. They’re pampered and babied, so showing cattle is a good way to promote something we love and educate the public. Most people aren’t exposed to cattle anywhere else, so it’s a good way to teach people about beef and cattle.”
On the Road, Preparing For The Future
As if the attention to detail required to raise cattle wasn’t already enough, showing cattle requires plenty of dedication to travel as well.
The Thompson family is regularly on the road for local, state and national shows, including destinations like Louisville, Oklahoma City and Kansas City, as well as longer drives to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, or Madison, Wisconsin, which are both 14-plus hours in the car.
“We’ll usually come in early to get the cattle settled and give them time to adjust,” Ammie says. “We have a trailer with living quarters in it and that’s made life easier than staying in hotels because it’s better to be right there with your cattle. The competitions and events at the shows are nonstop.”
Even though the miles are long, the family bonding, education and the Thompson’s shared passion for cattle make it all worth it. Ask Lou Lou what she likes best about showing cattle, she’ll likely be grinning ear to ear as she thinks about her answer.
Lou Lou practices and works her cattle in the mornings before school and in the afternoons and evenings. "I like that you can understand them, and understand what they like,” Lou Lou says smiling. “Then, after a while, they understand you and you bond with the cattle.”
The bonds Lou Lou has created with her animals have helped her earn more than $25,000 in college scholarships, and she’s not ready to stop any time soon.
"I want to work even harder and try to win some more,” she says Lou Lou. “I want to raise cows, and sell them, and I want to be a teacher.”
She’s well on her way to making it happen — and she’s got the talent to do it, too. “On the weekend, she might be working with the cattle for five or six hours straight,” Ammie says. “She’s also got real talent with cattle. I suppose it’s like a sports player, some people can work super hard their whole life, but they still don't have that raw talent to help them.”
Equipped with talent, a love for animals and the genes of a champion, Lou Lou is ready for whatever comes next.
“We got our children into cattle for their futures,” Ammie says. “They’ve each already got a good herd going that they’ll always be able to build on.”
