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Career exploration taken to a new level at MFL MarMac

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By Audrey Posten, North Iowa Times Editor

MFL MarMac juniors and seniors are being exposed to potential career opportunities as they’ve never been before through a program called Career Learning Link.

A partnership between Northeast Iowa Community College (NICC), Upper Explorerland and ECIA in Dubuque, Career Learning Link was created a little over a year ago thanks to a grant from the U.S. Department of Labor. It’s available in 26 different schools in Northeast Iowa, four of which—including MFL MarMac—are served by Cassie Martin, a youth career connect counselor with Upper Explorerland.

“The main objective,” Martin explained, “is to take career exploration to the next level.”

According to Martin, approximately 80 percent of all college students change their major at some point. Many change it several times. 

With a major change, often comes more time in school. That also means more student debt. And it isn’t cheap. For 2016 college grads, student debt averages just over $37,000.

Career Learning Link, said Martin, strives to help students cut back on that extra time and cost.

“We’re trying to help students learn about career pathways before they make those decisions,” she stressed.

She said, with any luck, it will also cut down on the number of undecided students.

“A lot of students know where they want to go to college, but when you ask them what they want to study, they have no idea,” she noted. “We’re trying to put the career first.”

Martin visits MFL MarMac each Thursday, meeting with juniors and seniors in the program. To be eligible, students must take at least one class for college credit through NICC. Many take concurrent classes, which are taught right at the high school, so it’s not as difficult as it seems, Martin noted.

At MFL MarMac, over 40 students currently participate, including new juniors this year, as well as seniors who signed up last year and are continuing with the program. 

“It takes time to build up, but word of mouth has been good,” Martin said. “Schools are receptive to partnering and providing learning experiences.”

Some of the services offered to students through Career Learning Link include internships, mentoring, career coaching and field trips. The program can also pay for things like the ACT and the mileage to get there, along with CNA supplies/clothes and some college courses.

Job shadow opportunities are also a large part of the Career Learning Link offerings. Students travel as far away as Des Moines or La Crosse to learn about their career interests.

“We try to find someone local, but we don’t stop the kids from traveling,” Martin shared. “Some are dreamers, and the only place they can find that is farther away.”

The goal of job shadowing, said Martin, is to provide students with insight into a career. Sometimes it goes well.

“If a student says they want to be a nurse, then come back [from a job shadow] so excited, I say ‘let’s start planning for the end goal,’” Martin explained. She goes over the kind of training and education necessary, as well as the kind of hours the profession demands.

At times, job shadows don’t always go as the student hoped.

“Some say ‘no way,’” Martin remarked. “But the failures are just as important as the successes. I’d rather they see that now than spend time and money later to find it’s not the right fit.”

Beginning Nov. 16, MFL MarMac will pilot a new career exploration opportunity called the “Bulldog Lunch and Learn.”

Through the program, an area business will visit MFL MarMac every Wednesday during lunchtime, talking about the business, the different positions they employ and the education level they look for when hiring employees. Students will sign up ahead of time if they’re interested.

“It’s open to any student,” Martin said. “They’ll get a sack lunch and can sit and listen and ask questions.”

So far, said Martin, Family Dentistry Associates of Monona, Swiss Valley, M’s Machine and the Postville Veterinary Clinic are among the businesses who have agreed to participate.

“We want to hit a bunch of different areas,” she said.

Not only will the Bulldog Lunch and Learn help students learn about potential careers, but it will also help them see that many careers are available locally, Martin commented.

“It’s good for them to see that there are businesses right here in their own backyard that they didn’t realize were potential career opportunities,” she said. 

“We like to showcase Iowa careers. We want to inspire students to live, work and play in Iowa,” Martin added. “We help them be creative. If that’s your passion, we’ll find something that fits. A lot of times, they’re shocked that they can have that passion and do it here, where they want to be.”

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