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Zoom Into Your Career: Cultivating Resources With James Hocker

Zoom Into Your Career

K20 Center | Published: October 1st, 2026 by K20 Center

Summary

[This career is in the STEM Career Cluster.]

James Hocker serves as the program manager for OK-First. In this capacity, James serves as a lead instructor at all OK-First classes, develops training content, provides input and direction for software and tool development, and manages the program budget. James has B.S. and M.S. degrees in meteorology from the University of Oklahoma.

Zoom Into Your Career videos were recorded during a live webinar event where a practicing professional shared about their career, day-to-day job functions, and educational pathway. These webinar recordings include the professional's Career Talk as well as a live Q&A using submitted student questions.

Topics covered by the interview include:

  • Job title and description
  • Speaker's path to their current career
  • Example(s) of education required for the career
  • Challenging and enjoyable aspects of their job
  • Advice for students interested in learning more about or pursuing this career

Standards

Educator Standards 6–12 (6th - 12th)
E.S.4.2: Introduce students to career clusters and pathways, helping them connect their interests, skills, and academic strengths to potential careers and the educational requirements needed to achieve them. Facilitate activities like career exploration projects or discussions with professionals in relevant fields.
E.S.5.1: Highlight connections between academic content and real-world applications in postsecondary settings to make learning more relevant.

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