Community members partner with Huntley High School students to host mock interviews

HUNTLEY — Students of Huntley High School that are part of the Huntley Community School District 158’s (D158) Cooperative Education program were able to host and participate in an annual mock interview event that took place last week at the D158 district office located in Algonquin.

Community members and D158 employees participated by interviewing students for four rounds of mock interviews, according to Alex LeMoine, D158’s director of communications and public relations.

Interviewers included representatives from McHenry County College, a recruiter from the Illinois National Guard, Algonquin Bank & Trust, Edward Jones, Eric J. Fernandez & Co., About Your Home Inspection, staff from the Huntley Park District, and D158 staff including the district’s Superintendent Scott Rowe.

Members of the district’s Board of Education (BOE) also assisted in conducting interviews.

“It makes me feel a lot better about future interviews because I feel like I would be a lot less nervous now that I know what I would say and do,” said Sydney Wenckaitis, a junior at Huntley High School.

Tony Quagliano, the BOE’s president, regularly participates in the district’s annual mock interview event and states that he is confident that students who participated in the event will leave Huntley High School with an outstanding work ethic and drive for success.

“I’ve been doing this well over 10 years and I’m always amazed at how well all of the students do. They’re all imminently hirable as-is and they’re not even out of high school yet,” said Quagliano.

Students who participated in the mock interviews were able to gain experience through each facet of the interview process, including learning how to successfully prepare before an interview.

“We focus on the complete interview process including dressing for success, the elevator speech, behavior-based interviewing techniques, body language, and how to send a thank you letter,” said Page Schaschwary, Huntley High School’s Cooperative Education teacher. “The students also prepare a resume, references, and an ePortfolio to bring to the interview.”

In addition to gaining interview experience, students have expressed feeling a greater sense of self-confidence.

“After each interview, I had more confidence in myself and I was definitely more passionate about what I was saying,” said Mitchell Flanagan, a senior at Huntley High School.

D158’s Cooperative Education program is a senior elective at Huntley High School which offers students credit for both classwork in post-high school life and on-the-job training.

“This class has taught me all the skills and what I need to know going into an interview so that I am fully prepared and am ready for the interview,” said HHS senior student Griffin Klusek.

Parents of Huntley High School students that are interested in finding out more information about the Cooperative Education program may contact Page Schaschwary at 847-659-6616.