Finding your ideal career as a student can be challenging without guidance. How can you know what you want if you haven’t explored much outside of the classroom?
The College and Career Center (CCC) at Ida B. Wells High School is located across from the main office. You’ll know you’re in the right place when you see the college flags on the wall and the friendly smiles of our staff.
Inside, you will find our Career and Partnerships Coordinator, Jessica Wade, ready to extend a warm welcome to any visitor. “There’s a route for every student,” she says, “I like to think of the work I do as making connections so students can pursue those routes.”
Wade specializes in coordinating several types of career help. Special events like career field trips, job shadows, and class visits. She is also great for one-on-one support for all students. Whether it’s job searches, resumés, interviews, or finding an alternate post-secondary path, Wade has your back.
Updates on career opportunities and events, as well as volunteer and leadership opportunities can be found in the monthly career newsletter, the weekly Guardian Gazettes and on the CCC Instagram.
Wade recommends visiting the CCC at every grade level.
For freshmen, it can be helpful to start discovering their interests. Commonly, freshmen do not have a lot of exposure to many career ideas outside of school. While their College Career Exploration class may give them some insight, it can be challenging to get a lot of direct experience.
However, if they visit the CCC, Wade can help them find opportunities for more hands-on career learning outside of the school. Hands-on experiences can be helpful for freshmen trying to figure out the types of careers they wish to pursue, in turn, helping them pick better classes in upcoming years and better preparing them for post-secondary education.
“Once you know a little bit about yourself,” says Wade, “you can explore careers that might be of interest to you and make connections to the class offerings we have here and eventually your post-secondary education path.”
For sophomores and juniors, taking advantage of career day and volunteer opportunities is important. “[They’re] really going from that career awareness level to more real in-depth exploration of careers,” she says.
For seniors, visiting the CCC often can be like a lifeline, as it offers a wide array of opportunities. From trying to figure out what major they want to pursue in college, deciding they want to go a non-traditional route, such as getting an associate’s degree at a community college, pursuing trade school, or becoming an artist.
“I work with students who are interested in going into cosmetology school,” says Wade, “and students who want to be an EMT, or who want to complete a CNA program, or who want to be a tattoo artist.”
A graduation requirement for all students is completing two Career-Related Learning Experiences (CRLEs) before they graduate. CRLEs give students the opportunity to listen and experience in-depth conversations with guest speakers in class, attend career days and shadow potential employers, among many other things.
It’s important that students take advantage of these opportunities, not just for graduation, but to spark interest in career exploration and to seek support when they need it. Listening to guest speakers and participating in career events gives students a better understanding of the reality of being in certain careers, which can help them make more informed decisions about their futures.
It’s okay not to know where to begin or what you’re interested in. “If a student has no idea what they wanna do, I will sit with them and go through some assessment tools and see if the results of those assessments resonate with them and find ways to help them explore those potential careers,” says Wade.
No matter where you are in your career journey, “please say yes to opportunities,” says Wade, “it’s something that could spark your future, so just take advantage of it.”
For your next career endeavor, be sure to visit the CCC.
