High School and Middle School Students Learn About Future Career Options

Mentoring Day is an Event at Font Du Lac That Has Been Going On Since the 90

CLOQUET, Minn.- Grace Daniel and Jay Stahl Students from Duluth East High School, are already thinking about what they want to do, when they graduate high school. And Mentoring Day at Fond Du Lac Community College is helping them and other middle and high school students, do just that.

“I really wanna do like filming for big companies, kind of like Redbull or sports events, things like that. It would be cool,” said Daniel.

“It’s just an opportunity to see what your options are, and get a taste of what college is like almost,” said Stahl.

The goal of mentoring day is to encourage students with Individualized Education Programs plan their future.

“Part of a student being in special education is as schools, we need to provide them with information on what they need to know, to transition into the real world,” said Jessica Knutsen the Secondary Transition Coordinator for the Northern Lights Special Ed Cooperative.

Students attended breakout seminars to learn about what career and schooling options are available to them after high school.

“I did film upstairs, I learned a lot about film and a lot of like, cool tips and stuff,” said Daniel.

From the mining industry, to the police force, representatives from many backgrounds and organizations explained what it’s like to work, and pursue a career in their fields.

Organizers say it’s a perfect way to introduce the students to people with real working experience.

“this is an event where they can also network with community members, with professionals, and they seem to like that more than just hearing their teacher,” said Knutsen.

Students said they enjoyed that the program gave them a wide range of options, and helped them make their own decisions about what their future could be.

“We want to be able to help them build their skills, build their strengths in to their assets, into their goals into their dreams, into the future,” said Joyce McQuiston, a teacher at Proctor High School.