PAC Rim At Port

The PAC Rim ninth and tenth grade students took a trip to the Long Beach Harbor as part of a district-wide program on both October 17 and 25. The students learned about international trade and observed different career paths at the Port.
“We went on the trips to get a sense of who works at the Port and what jobs are available there,” said Mr. Jeffrey Inui, the PAC Rim Facilitator.
Seventy PAC Rim freshmen took a bus to the Harbor on the 17th for a one hour boat tour on a two-story yacht, the Sea Breeze. The students visited the Gerald Desmond Bridge and observed clean beaches as a result of the Green Port Policy.
Leading up to the trip, they had worked for a month studying the Port’s role in international business.
“The students are looking forward to applying for internships at the Port this summer,” said Ms. Libby Huff, the PAC Rim Business teacher.
On the 25th, the same ten sophomores received a four hour tour at the port from 8:30 to noon. They were granted this opportunity from a program called Exploring Careers. The program has had a six-year partnership with LBUSD and each year has intoduced ten students from all of the LBUSD high schools to many careers in maritime trade, from the blue-collar docks to the white-collar businesses.
As international trade is the focus of PAC Rim, the students were required to make a print-ad from pictures they took at the port that expressed the Port’s three main ideas: protecting the environment, future projects and jobs, and revenue for the city.
“The print ad was designed to reflect how a business advertises in its marketing campaigns,” said Ms. Huff.
Jen Choi, the Port’s representative and Manager of Creative Arts and Design, chose the best design on October 25, and the winners will be invited on top of the Port’s holiday parade float. The ten PAC Rim students who were nominated to attend the field trip by their teacher received certificates.
“It was a great learning experience. Not only did we get to learn what goes on in the port, but we spent the day with very sophisticated people. They taught us that if we choose a career that we love, we’ll never really work a day in our lives,” said sophomore Antonette Santos.
The Long Beach Port Trip’s goal was for the students to learn about how the Port affects both Long Beach and international trade, while also helping them in their business project.