U-46 eighth graders explore careers, pathway programs

With help from an Elgin police officer, eighth-grader Leilani Velazquez slipped into a vest and put on a helmet typically worn by members of a SWAT team.

The Canton Middle School student already had collected a bag full of pamphlets about the military - a path she's been exposed to through members of her family - while walking through an Elgin Area School District U-46 career expo Wednesday. But a keen interest in law enforcement also drew her to the large SWAT truck parked on the arena floor of the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates.

"I've never been able to see so many options you can actually choose," Velazquez said. "This place says, 'You can try anything.'"

Roughly 85 business and industry leaders participated in Explore 2018, the fourth annual career expo focused on introducing eighth-graders to the district's educational pathway programs and curriculum. The event, organized in partnership with the Alignment Collaborative for Education, featured exhibitors and hands-on demonstrations in manufacturing, health care, art, science, law enforcement and other fields.

"For us, it's a matter of sparking (students') interests so we can build on that and give them ideas of what their careers could be like," said Kinasha Brown, U-46 director of educational pathways. "You see a robust connection between the business and industry and what is offered in school to make it more relevant."

Roughly 3,000 students from all five middle schools attended the event with their teachers and guidance counselors. The expo previously was held on Saturdays in smaller venues, requiring parents to bring their kids, said Nancy Coleman, executive director of Alignment.

"If they weren't able to do that, they weren't able to participate," Coleman said. "Everyone gets to participate this year."

For exhibitors such as Daniel Symonds, owner of Symonds-Madison Funeral Home in Elgin, the expo serves as a way to open students' eyes to occupations that weren't on their radar.

It also showcases potential careers and programs for kids who might not be college-bound, said Glenn Berg, director of HR and safety for Elgin-based MKD Electric.

"The idea is to do these kinds of things to enlighten young people to the opportunities that exist for them outside college," he said, noting his company offers an apprenticeship program. "Too many parents are stuck in a paradigm. I think they need to open themselves and their kids' ideas to what else is out there."

Eastview student Christina Biel said she always has been interested in the medical field. Speaking to someone in the industry during the event helped narrow her focus to surgical technology, she said.

"It's helpful and interesting to find out careers you can go into," Biel said. "You can see what all different kinds of people do and experience something new and different."