STRUTHERS — Michael Meuter isn’t shy about expressing his desire to one day run for president of the United States, though he is under no illusions that many smaller steps have to be climbed first.

“I’m interested in politics, public service and government. I also love debate,” Meuter, a Struthers High School junior, said.

As a joke, last year he and a friend constructed campaign yard signs stating Meuter’s presidential bid. During last spring’s Civics Day at the school, he expressed the same desire and, later, at the urging of Mayor Catherine Cercone Miller and Megan Shorthouse, clerk of council, he took a few of those steps.

Specifically, Meuter was among the 13 high school students who participated in Friday’s inaugural job shadowing event that took them to several businesses and departments throughout the city. During each stop, they heard presentations from workers and department heads that gave them a sense of what the jobs entail.

The 11 Struthers High students who embarked on the tour are in Kevin Dailey’s advanced-placement government class; the other two attend Campbell Memorial High School.

“It was cool seeing how everything operates,” Meuter said.

The core thrust behind the all-day experience was to instill in the students the importance of working well and collaboratively with others, as well as contributing to the community’s betterment, Cercone Miller said.

To that end, it’s essential the young people develop the ability to learn to work with public utility businesses, their school system in general, unions, consulting companies, city departments such as city council, previous administrations, residents and the media, the mayor noted.

The students’ day began with a morning roundtable discussion with Cercone Miller, Campbell Mayor Bryan K. Tedesco and Bob Benson, Struthers’ safety services director. Afterward, they stopped at the city’s police department, Struthers Municipal Court, Aqua Ohio, the Struthers Sewage Plant, Material Research Laboratories Inc., several businesses that Brian Palumbo owns and the post office before wrapping up at the Struthers fire and street departments.

Specifically, Palumbo owns Selah Restaurant, along with three other nearby downtown businesses. Part of their tour took the students to his shop that has more than 10,000 outfits and costumes, many of which are used largely for local theater productions and other such ventures.

Meuter said he was most impressed with the city street department for its efficiency in clearing the roads after snow events, as well as securing the city’s safety.

The junior added that after high school, he may pursue becoming an electrical engineer, but he has his eyes also on the political arena, with a strong emphasis on public service.

At the street department, the students met Thomas Noble, department foreman, who explained in detail the department’s numerous functions beyond salting and treating the roads in winter. Noble, a former high school football coach, also told the juniors and seniors that the street department offers summer employment, such as mowing lawns, and he encouraged them to attend college or a trade school to further their education.

“I met a lot of people I didn’t know existed that hold our city together,” Ava Croyle, 16, a Struthers High 11th-grader, said.

The junior added that two aspects of Struthers that she most appreciates are the small town feel and family atmosphere. Croyle also is grateful for various beautification efforts that have improved the city’s aesthetics from how they looked when she was a child, she said.

“It feels like home; it’s very comforting,” Croyle said, adding that many people have helped her and the family during recent hard times. “Everybody knows everybody. You’ll never go through anything alone.”

Croyle’s ambitions after high school include enrolling at Youngstown State University to study mechanical engineering, and possibly attend the University of South Florida in Tampa, she continued.

While at the post office, the group heard brief presentations from Tracy Blama and Tracie Brown, who have more than two years and nearly 20 years there, respectively.

“It’s not a glamorous job, but there’s always going to be a need for mail carriers,” Brown told the students.

As with the post office, a large need remains to fill firefighting positions, Kevin Malarick, an engineer with the Struthers Fire Department said, while demonstrating for the group an array of tools and equipment he and the others use.

At the end of their day, the students met Judge James Melone of Struthers Municipal Court, who explained the workings of the court system, including how civil cases as well as misdemeanor and felony ones are heard.

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