Career Explorations program builds community connections
This year, Mt. Scott’s Transitions program has been hosting a virtual speaker series, Career Explorations. The program exposes our students to a variety of career paths and connects them to community members, helping them map out their future.
“Our speakers represent a balance of careers our students are interested in and exposes them to jobs they may not have considered,” said Amanda Lighthiser, who joined the Transitions team this year and is implementing the program along with Mac Woods. “The students are hearing from people who have had diverse experiences and they enjoy hearing the stories of how individuals carve out unique, and sometimes surprising, paths for themselves.”
Career Explorations gives the students a sense of different opportunities. Students learn about the speakers’ day-to-day work life, how they arrived at their job, and some of the skills students can work on now to have a career down the line.
Lighthiser says there are many benefits to the program. “It’s important to have students hear from professionals that the path to a career isn’t always linear. And they learn that soft skills like relationship-building, communication, and organizational skills are just as important as training and education.”
The program also gives students the opportunity to build relationships with speakers, who have been generous with their time and willing to chat with students afterwards.
Recently, the program had the highest turnout yet with 42 students tuning in to hear from a music producer. But Career Explorations doesn’t just have individual professionals as speakers. The students also hear from local colleges and trade programs, as well as programs such as a Certified Nurse Assistant certification program and the Aveda Institute.
Amanda Lighthiser joined Mt. Scott at the start of the 2020-21 school year and works with Mac Woods in the Transitions program. In addition to helping students get on track to graduate and prepare for life after high school, she helps develop the advisory curriculum. A certified yoga instructor, she also teaches mindfulness classes.
Would you like to be one of our Career Explorations speakers? See the list below for examples of careers our students have said they want to learn about and contact Amanda if you’re interested.
- Artists/Art History/Museum Curators
- Authors/Writers
- Journalists
- Attorneys
- Medical field/Healthcare
- Veterinarian
- Video Production and Editing
- Engineering
- Architecture
- Computer Science
- Business Owners/Corporate Business Professionals
- Counselors/Therapists/Psychologists
- Hair Stylists/Estheticians
- Modeling/Acting
- Construction
- Interior Design