On Thursday and Friday, October 6-7, 2022, Waterloo Schools eighth and ninth graders engaged in hands-on career-ready experiences with more than 60 Cedar Valley businesses at the inaugural Career Inspire event at the Waterloo Convention Center.
“This year, we were thrilled to partner with Junior Achievement (JA) to offer Career Inspire to every single eighth and ninth grade student,” said Waterloo Schools Superintendent Dr. Jared Smith. “It was very exciting to see our community coming together to support our students and our districts.”
According to Smith, this experience expanded upon Waterloo Schools’ career development work which officially began in 2016 with the opening of the Waterloo Career Center.
“Exposure to professionals in a variety of industries and careers allows students to see their potential future in action through the Career Inspire event,” said Amy Miehe, Lead Administrator at the Waterloo Career Center. “More importantly, students got to interact with professionals in industries and careers of underrepresented populations such as male nurses, women in the trades, etc. The hope is to encourage students to see their future opportunities and be inspired by the many role models working within our community.”
“Think of the Career Inspire event as a shopping mall of careers,” said Amy Hunzelman, Experiential Learning Coordinator. “Students will shop around to different activities figuring out what ‘fits’ and what sparks their interest.”
The Career Inspire event is a hands-on career exploration experience for eighth and ninth grade Waterloo Schools students. Many local businesses from the community showcased their career paths for students, including the steps needed to obtain a specific job, and how to start preparing for their desired career while attending Waterloo Schools. More than 60 businesses participated in the event including Veridian, Hawkeye, UNI, and John Deere.
“We reached out to several community leaders in each of the six service areas within Iowa, and they did a great job of actively recruiting a diverse field of businesses,” said Jeff Frost, Executive Director of Professional Technical Education.
According to Frost, students find their passions and path to careers throughout their K-12 journey with Waterloo Schools.
“We have some students that lock onto their career interests early and follow that all the way through graduation and beyond,” said Frost. “Programs we offer, such as LifeLabs, Career Inspire, our own Middle School Exploratory, all help students narrow that focus.”
The Career Inspire event, unique to the Cedar Valley and its direct connection to the Waterloo Schools’ district-wide K-12 Career Development strategy, was attended by Iowa’s Director of Education, Ann Lebo.
“Our career development initiatives are a top priority for Waterloo Schools,” said Smith. “And Career Inspire has been a powerful and exciting opportunity for our students to take another big step to discover where their passions meet professions.”
