By: Brenda Morehead, Director of Impact, Project Leadership—
Muncie, IN—About 600 students from across Delaware County took part today in the first ever Delaware County Industry Expo, a collaborative event organized by school, business and community partners in the Delaware County Comprehensive Counseling Coalition. 8th and 9th graders listened to panelists from local employers in the industries of health and human services, hospitality and tourism, manufacturing and skilled trades, and information and technology.
Students across eight school systems – Burris, Cowan, Daleville, Inspire, Liberty- Perry, Muncie Central, Yorktown and Wes-Del – converged on downtown Muncie for morning and afternoon sessions held at the Horizon Convention Center.
The Industry Expo was designed by all eight school partners to help expose students to career opportunities specifically in Delaware County. The eight schools formed a Comprehensive Counseling Coalition in 2018 following a grant award from Lilly Endowment to better address the needs of students across three areas – academics, college and career, and social and emotional learning.
“It’s powerful to see all of the school systems, who are vastly different, collaborating,” said Community Foundation Program Officer Carly Acree-King, who moderated panels throughout the day on hospitality and tourism.
For the past year, Coalition members have met monthly to engage in collaborations, gain knowledge, measure impact and grow relationships with one another. The Expo is the Coalition’s first event collaboration.
“This is an unprecedented collaboration between school systems, a practical way industry partners can be connected with urban school and rural schools, and a great way for students to connect with job opportunities,” said Ball Brothers Foundation Program Officer Jenna Wachtmann. “It’s a perfect way to fill the gap between what employers want and schools are being asked to do. This is about the future of work and investing in students who we hope will stay in Delaware County. Today’s about the opportunity for them to see there are many ways for them to live and work here in this community.”
Rachel Milligan, a Burris Laboratory School middle and high school counselor and co-planning chair of the event, said that the Coalition viewed the industry event differently than a traditional career day. “Usually career days are at the elementary level,” she said. “The Industry Expo is engaging 8th graders and high schoolers who are looking at careers for the future.”
Ashley Surpas, Project Manager for the Muncie-Delaware County Economic Development Alliance and co-planning chair for the Industry Expo, said that the Expo aligns with the Vision 2021 plan, which is a guiding document for economic development in Muncie and Delaware County. “Economic development is all about getting students into the careers of tomorrow,” Surpas said.
The Industry Expo provided students with the opportunity to learn from panelists across multiple industries and pose questions to the professionals. In the health and human services panel, Sabrina Bowman, Salina Gordon and Sydney Wilson – all respiratory therapists at IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital – fielded questions from students ranging from salaries to work schedules. Some of the questions posed to the respiratory therapist professionals:
- What are the worst and best parts of your job?
- Are you scheduled to be on call?
- How much sleep do you get doing this job?
- Do you feel guilty when someone in your care passes away?
- What causes more damage – smoking or vaping?
The therapists spoke to more than 300 students throughout the day, offering these key action steps as pointers:
- Job shadow.
“Ask them every question you can possibly think of,” said Gordon who has been a therapist for seven years. “I shadowed as a high school student, interning at college and working at Ball. It made it easy to have those connections and be comfortable and dedicated to the field.”
- Ask the people you job shadow about their worst and best.
“We can Google stuff all day long, and it will tell us wonderful things about a career,” Bowman said. “But every career has its ups and downs. Some things are deal breakers that you can’t handle physically or emotionally. You can’t learn that by reading a Google article.”
- Consider earning a CNA license to gain a foundation in knowledge and then use what you learn to potentially expand into another medical career.
“I had the opportunity to learn first hand,” said Bowman, who has worked as a therapist for 11 years and is now a clinical specialist as well.
- Explore tuition reimbursement from a medical employer.
“Not all of us will quality for financial aid or qualify for scholarships, so that’s another way for us to get money for school,” Bowman said.
Panels were moderated by representatives from the Ball Brothers Foundation, The Community Foundation of Muncie & Delaware County and Project Leadership.
For more information about the Industry Expo or the Delaware County Comprehensive Counseling Coalition, contact Project Leadership Director Tammy Pearson via email at tpearson@projectleadership.org or call 765-896- 8616.
