iJAG students share experiences with school board

MT. PLEASANT — Mt. Pleasant students expressed their deep gratitude for their experiences with the school district’s iJAG program at Monday night’s school board meeting.

As part of the programs update to the school board, iJAG (Iowa Jobs for America’s Graduates) specialists Holly Frary, Beki Hoyle, and Stacy Peterman encouraged current and former students to share their experiences.

According to iJAG’s website, the program partners with Iowa schools like Mt. Pleasant’s high school and middle school “ … to deliver career development programming that includes leadership training, career education, individualized guidance and employer services.”

MPCSD’s iJAG program currently serves 110 students from middle school through their senior year.

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Arianna Taylor, 2022 Mt. Pleasant Community High School graduate, told the board that her experiences with the iJAG program equipped her for the success she is currently experiencing in life after high school.

“By definition, iJAG is jobs for American graduates, but for me, it is more of a family,” Taylor shared.

“ … iJAG taught me what kind of classroom setting I prefer to learn in,” Taylor shared.

According to Taylor, she felt she learned better in the iJAG classroom setting because it “ … felt like a home and a family.”

Taylor shared that when she moved to the area and started in iJAG she had no idea what she wanted to do with her life.

“I had a couple of jobs, but I had no idea what career I wanted to do,” she said.

According to Taylor, the format of bringing in guest speakers from various career paths opened her eyes to many options as she learned what it takes to get to these positions, how long it takes, and what the jobs really look like.

“Right now, I work at the Dental Specialists of Iowa,” Taylor said. “I work in the sterilization room right now, but I am working on becoming a dental assistant, and then I am going to go to dental school to become a dental hygienist.”

While Taylor says she did not come to know that she wanted to take this career route directly from iJAG, she attributes much of the credit for finding her way to the program.

“I had no clue that I want to do that,” she said. “I was actually a nanny. I definitely appreciated that job and my project specialist that supported me along the way. Nannying was definitely a fun opportunity.”

Taylor expressed gratitude for the opportunity to go exciting places and work with a great family, but she knew that would not be a long-term career for her.

“iJAG taught me a lot of life and job skills,” she said. “They taught me how to file my taxes, which is not fun, but it’s very helpful.”

Some of those skills included talking in front of people like she did at Monday’s school board meeting.

She also said she learned about organizing and taking a leadership role as she put together a hygiene drive for the high school during her time as the Vice President of Community Service her senior year in iJAG.

“I definitely appreciate them,” she told the board. “They definitely helped me in a lot of ways after high school.”

Taylor attributes the fact that she even works for the Dental Specialists of Iowa to the skills and support she received through iJAG.

She specifically told the school board about her experience working with her iJAG specialist to create and perfect her resume which she used to apply for the position.

According to Taylor, the skills learned through iJAG gave her a leg-up to beat out 12 other applicants for her current position.

“We just kept editing it and making it the best it can be,” she said. “And after my job interview, they called me back and they said they were hiring me because I really stood out on the job interview in the way I conducted myself and the way I dressed and the way my job resume was very professional.”

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Brian Tiet, also a 2022 graduate, says iJAG opened his mind to a whole new possibilities of careers and next steps following graduation.

According to Teit, iJAG helped put his future into his own hands and help him develop skills to “ … navigate the world after high school.”

“Through iJAG I learned that even as a senior I could make an impact,” Tiet shared as he told the board how he was given opportunities to step into leadership roles and attend iJAG competitions representing his school.

Current iJAG sophomore Joseph Leishman confidently and succinctly told the school board that the program considerably grew his abilities in public speaking.

“If you had asked me to do this three years ago, I would probably decline,” he said. “I was a shy, slouching kid and I didn’t like attention that much. But now, as you can see here, I’m standing tall and I’m talking to you guys.”

“iJAG is amazing,” Leishman said. “It totally changed me last year when we presented projects and stuff and I was so so scared to that standing in front of a group of people and presenting something. And this year, I am standing here like ‘this is what I did and I am proud of it.’”

“iJAG has given me self confidence and self-assurance” he said. “It is really amazing and if you could go into that classroom, you’ll see how it’s changing people’s lives. It’s beautiful.”

After hearing raving reviews from students, school board member Sarah Donnolly specifically asked Frary to get in touch with her so she could help serve in the classroom as a guest speaker or other way to assist the program.

Board member Josh Maher asked how partnerships work.

According to Frary, these partnerships with the community and businesses are a give and take from both sides.

While Frary says that the initial contact usually comes from iJAG, once an employer gets involved, they usually reach out as they see opportunities to include iJAG.

When board member Mike Hampton asked about challenges for the program, 9/10 Specialist Hoyle asked for the board’s support in connecting them with specific industries.

“We have four targeted industries: health care, manufacturing, and trades,” Hoyle said. “And those four areas that we’re trying to target are very hard to find people to connect with, the trades fields especially.”

So, Hoyle asked the board to connect the program with any connections they may have in trades or I.T. so they can make those connections for their students.

Comments: AnnaMarie.Ward@southeastiowaunion.com