Community Collaboration: Building Bridges for Career Exploration

Now move to Slide 7 and explain the activities for the session. Participants will engage in station activities for each of the GEAR UP career exploration programs. The participants will begin by using a Career Expo Gym Set Up to practice designing their own Career Expo with a Career Cluster Card Sort. Next, participants will view sample student career cluster survey data and collaborate with their table group to match career speakers with the interests of their “students.” Lastly, participants will brainstorm hands-on experiences that students can participate in, the action steps needed for off-campus trips, and their expected learning outcomes from these events. Mention that each participant has a Mentor Planning Document that they will use throughout these activities to help with notetaking and brainstorming.

Move to Slide 8 and explain how Career Expos are different from standard college and career fairs (e.g. focusing on careers over only bringing colleges). Move to Slide 9 and tell participants that they will be using the Career Expo Gym Setup and the Career Cluster Card Sort to format and set up a sample career expo. Mention that participants should use the Career Expo section of their Mentor Planning Document to list potential speakers that could attend their Career Expo. Once all instructions have been given, start the 6-minute timer.

Once the timer is finished, check in with your participants to see how the activity went. Ask for groups to share out how and why they designed their Career Expo. Facilitators can also ask whether participants were able to add any new speakers to their Modified Appointment Clock handout.

Move to Slide 10 to explain what a Career Café is. Explain how Cafés are meant to bridge student interest and school curriculum to real-world connections. Move to Slide 11 and explain that the Student Survey Data handout is sample data taken from the K20 Center’s Career Cluster Survey. Participants will work with their group to analyze the sample data given and create a list of up to five career professionals who could come to their school to participate in a Career Café. Inform participants to use their Mentor Planning Document to record these speakers for future reference. Once all instructions have been given, start the 6-minute timer.

Once the timer is finished, check in with your participants to see how the activity went. Ask for groups to share their lists of potential Career Café speakers. Ask if the activity caused participants to list speakers they had not previously thought about. Facilitators can also ask if participants were able to add any new speakers to their Modified Appointment Clock handout.

Move to Slide 12 and explain what a College2Career Forum is and its difference from a regular site visit. Facilitators should mention that College2Career Forums are meant to be highly interactive career exploration events for students interested in learning more about a career after a degree or certificate granting program.

Move to Slide 13 and explain that participants will now take at least one speaker from the Career Café activity and outline actionable items needed to visit their place of business or PSI program for a College2Career Forum. Participants will use the College2Career Forum section of their Mentoring Action Plan document to list where they are going, when they would like to visit this location, and the logistics needed to take students off campus. Lastly, the participants should explain why they chose this location for a forum and their expected learning outcomes of the event. Once all instructions have been given, start the 6-minute timer.

Once the timer is finished, check in with your participants to see how the activity went. Ask for groups to share their potential College2Career Forum location and why they would like to visit that location. Ask if the activity caused participants to think about site visits that they had not previously thought about.