Cynthia is a high school drop-out, Mitch is a high school graduate, Ravene has an advanced degree.

It didn’t take long for Pam Morgan’s eighth-grade history students to figure out which one would qualify for the most jobs.

And it didn’t take long for Muskogee Rotary Club President Daniel Miller to tell the students the right choices to make as they get ready for high school. Miller and 11 other Muskogee Rotary members spent two days at the 7th & 8th Grade Center this week showing eighth-graders the value of making sound decisions through the Choices Program.

“The program was created to show students how many choices they make in their lives and how their choices impact the future,” Miller said. “We wanted the students to know the importance of education in acquiring a better job and what it does in impacting the quality of life.”

The Rotary members presented the interactive decision-making sessions during each eighth-grade history class.

“A lot of times, eighth-graders don’t plan that far in advance,” Miller said.

During his session, Miller used different class members to illustrate what happens when people make different decisions.

For example, Cynthia Dehorta, Mitch Sweeney and Ravene Bolden demonstrated the job opportunities available to those who chose to drop out or stay in school.

“Cynthia, would you like to be a flight attendant,” Miller asked the “dropout.”

Then Miller walked away, saying, “Sorry, no diploma.”

“Could Cynthia be a software designer?” he asked the class.

Holding cards representing different jobs, Miller walked away from Cynthia time and again. Meanwhile Ravene, with the “advanced degrees,” kept getting jobs.

Miller asked students what some of the perks were to having a good job. They gave such answers as being able to buy more stuff, make more money, have more time for hobbies. The family benefits by having more educational opportunities, and the community benefits when the worker pays taxes, the students decided.

“I learned to make good choices about staying in school,” Ravene said after Tuesday’s session. “And it was more fun than history.”

Classmate Cartisha Ballard said she learned about planning for the future.

Carole McBride, counselor at the 7th & 8th Grade Center, said “I think it does help students to see that the choices they make affect their lives.”

Muskogee Rotary board member Melinda Murphy said the students “will make choices every day.”

“They are in control of their destinies, their future and their careers,” she said.