Matt Farson, director of engineering at Marion Technical College, talks to students about the different kinds of engineers there are during Grant Middle School’s Leadership Day.
As Grant Middle School students finished their last day before Christmas break, staff and about 30 community volunteers urged them to think about the future.
Grant held its second annual Grant Leadership Day on Dec. 20. The day focused on student leadership and exploration of careers. The event, co-organized by Marion City Schools’ GEAR UP program, welcomed an increase in participation from business and educational representatives who volunteered their time to introduce students to career possibilities in the community.
For students, it was not only a day to learn about careers but to promote their school and the positive initiatives underway.
“Leadership is a big idea here,” said Shelby Westler, a member of the school’s LEAD Lighthouse team.
Classrooms throughout the building served as learning stations as students heard about career possibilities like healthcare, engineering and marketing by people working in those careers. Each of 16 career clusters, or groupings of industries and occupations based on their similarities, were represented.
Russ Sivey, a member of Marion Technical College’s engineering faculty, talks to students about career opportunities in engineering during Grant Middle School’s Leadership Day.
“We are just planting seeds of things that may be of interest to them,” said Grant Middle School Principal Adam Kunkle. He said that as they learn about potential careers in middle school, they can better choose high school classes that may help them prepare to work in a career field that interests them.
Rather than just one day in time, the event was a culmination of activities that take place throughout the school year. Grant students use Naviance, college and career readiness software that aligns their strengths and interests with potential career paths, to determine their interests. Those interests are then used to decide which learning stations students visit during the leadership day event.
GEAR UP, a federally funded program dedicated to eliminating barriers to college access, and Grant continue to work with students to develop their interests throughout middle school. They use those interests to suggest which pathway of studies students take when they reach high school.
“It’s almost like a giant puzzle piece,” said Kelly Garrett, GEAR UP’s director. “Each year we fill in some of those puzzle pieces.”
She and Kunkle agreed it’s a puzzle students have to start putting together in middle school. That way students are ready for opportunities like College Credit Plus, which lets middle and high school students take college-level courses for free and work towards an associate’s degree.
“It’s too late if we don’t,” Garrett said. “There’s so many opportunities that they can start planning for. We want to give them as much exposure as possible.”
Grant Middle School eighth grader Jahki Henderson leads the chorus during a song performed at the Grant Leadership Day event held on Dec. 20.
Along with the career exploration part, the day gave students a chance to showcase their school’s initiatives like LEAD, the middle school version of FranklinCovey’s The Leader in Me program used in the elementary schools. Students greeted guests by discussing what leadership meant to them.
Lauren Crouch, another member of the LEAD Lighthouse team, talked about how leaders work towards positive change in their communities and serve as a role model for others. She spoke about the Leader in Me’s Seven Daily Habits and how they made her realize “what life is about.”
“It’s about being a leader and making change in your life, with others and in your community,” she said. “I have become a better person since I came to Grant Middle School.”
Jerrod Slater, Marion City Schools’ diversity and equity coordinator, encouraged students to keep that community spirit and pursue their interests.
“You should be relentless in your pursuit of those dreams,” he said. “Never let anything get in your way. That relentless pursuit will shape you and make you what you are.”
He encouraged students to “never forget where you came from.”
As students explored careers and modeled leadership, administrators continued to remind participants of the bigger picture. The Grant Leadership Day tied into the district’s Diploma Plus Acceptance initiative, which centers around making sure students graduate college or career ready with the skills they need to be successful. That may be college credits they earn while in high school or a certificate showing they have a specific skill. The discussion begins to take shape in middle school and continues throughout high school.
The idea behind the initiative is that every student leaves high school with the skills they need to gain admission into college, an apprenticeship, the military or an in-demand, high paying job.
“We want them to have more than just a high school diploma,” Kunkle said.
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