Eighth graders visit Kirkwood for Career Day

WASHINGTON — The entirety of Washington Middle School’s eighth grade class visited the Kirkwood Regional Center March 28, for a rapid-fire introduction to several career areas the community college helps train people for.

Groups floated from room to room at the facility, completing activities that showcased the basics of construction, health care services, car repairs and advanced manufacturing, as well as a discussion on “success in a new economy.”

“A lot of kids just don’t know a lot of the hands-on type of things that are out here,” WMS Guidance Counselor Emily Miller said. “They can get the skills needed to be able to work right out of high school. Especially those kids that are not on the stereotypical path of four-year school, sometimes they think that there’s nothing (they) can do because they don’t want to go to college, and that’s not the reality.”

While middle school may seem early to start thinking about career paths, Miller said job exploration was a part of the standard eighth grade curriculum in Iowa.

The counselor encourages students to seek out broad work experiences early, as a rule of thumb. Doing so makes it easier to connect the dots when choosing a longer-term job down the road.

“I just tell them to just explore, try new things,” she said. “If you babysit for the first time, and the kid gets sick and you’re like, ‘Oh my God, I can’t deal with blood,’ or whatever, that’s good to know. Maybe nursing is something you don’t want to pursue.”

  Buy Photo

After their first toe dip into career opportunities, students talk with counselors to form a four-year plan for high school, setting them up with classes and resources to set a trajectory into professional life.

The plan is expected to change, perhaps several times per student. Miller said it was intentionally fluid.

“Not that they should or need to make a decision yet about what they’re going to do,” she said, adding that the Kirkwood career day was intended to “get those questions and those things rolling in their mind … showing kids that no matter what they want to do, we have resources here to help them figure that out.”

The annual event doubles as a showcase for the community college.

Washington Regional Center Director Tera Pickens said students often signed up for Kirkwood classes after seeing the institution’s myriad options.

“It’s a nice introductory way for them to see the building, to learn more about all of our career academy offerings, tour the labs, try out some of the equipment,” she said. “And we have some fun hands-on demonstrations … it’s such a great opportunity.”

  Buy Photo

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com