Dr. Bruce Weisbein, D.C., from My Chiro demonstrating vertebrae with Cedar Rapids Community School District 7th grader
This school year, over 1050 Cedar Rapids Community School District 7th graders got an introduction to a variety of careers in the Corridor area through Career Speaker Days coordinated by the Workplace Learning Connection. Guidance counselors from Franklin, Harding, McKinley, Roosevelt, Taft and Wilson Middle Schools hosted the events on dates in October 2010 through January 2011. Area business people from careers in the Engineering, Arts and Health pathways went to the schools to speak with the 7th graders about what life can be like after their school years. Or more specifically, how today’s students can prepare for tomorrow’s careers.
In all, 31 area professionals volunteered their time to speak with the 7th graders and show them some of the tools of their trade. They talked about the types of classes the students should take if they’re interested in a specific career, what post-secondary training and education is needed to get a job in their field and what path each speaker took to get to where they are today. They shared with them a typical “day in the life” on their job, what a typical salary is, and what are the challenges and rewards in their fields.
The careers ranged from voice and dance teachers, to a pilot, an EMT, a musician, an aeronautical engineer, a nurse, a radio disc jockey, and a dietician. Many other careers were represented as well. The following organizations provided the speakers:
Area Ambulance Service, Ashford Voice Studio, Balog Machine & Tool, Black Hill Institute of Geological Research, CR/Linn County Solid Waste Agency, CR Spirits Dance Studio, CR Museum of Art, D.C. Taylor, Electric Mule, General Mills, Hands In Harmony Massage Clinic, Hy-Vee, Iowa Flight Training, KCCK Radio, KZIA 102.9 Radio, Mercy Medical Center, My Chiro Chiropratic, Rockwell Collins, St. Lukes Hospital, Theatre Cedar Rapids, Van Meter Industrial, WDG Communications, Worley Warehousing, and Yell Adworks.
WLC’s Barb Tupper arranged for the speakers to participate. “Workplace Learning Connection was excited to partner with the middle school counselors from across the entire Cedar Rapids District to give their 7th grade students a first-hand glimpse into a variety of careers through the Speaker Days this fall. Hearing from professionals in the workplace will help students understand the value of skills they learn and use in the classroom and help them make more informed decisions about their own future.”
Laura DeFlieger, RN from Mercy Medical gives her perspective on how the students benefit, “They get to know first-hand what to expect and what kinds of things they might start to think about for a career later on. We’re helping them understand why the classes they are taking now will actually help them later in life. I think one of the best questions I get from students is why did you choose this career. It gives me an opportunity to tell them what I was thinking at their age and what I actually became. ”
Tiffany Kuehl, owner of CR Spirits Dance Studio, explains why she participates, “I go speak at the middle schools because I hope my story reaches one student. When I speak I don’t just state the knowledge you have to have, the experience you need, or how many years it will take you. I speak of their Talent, their Character and their Common Sense that are not taught in college.”
The Cedar Rapids Community School District partners with WLC to provide career education to their middle school students in order to equip them with 21st century skills that align with Iowa’s Core Curriculum. To learn more about this type of learning opportunity, log on to www.workplace-learning.org.
