Great Fun helping Teens Explore Possible Careers

The following column originally appeared during July 2024 in a number of APG of East Central Mn newspapers including Morrison County Record and County News Review

 

Great Fun helping teens with possible careers

It’s been a long time since I’ve had so much fun.

The week of July 8th I learned from and helped 19 Minnesota high school students think about possible careers. It reminded me of what families — parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, and siblings — can do this summer to help teens.

Asking young people what they are considering and helping them make local connections can be so rewarding both for adults and youngsters. Many people in a diverse group of fields have been immediately willing — even eager — to be interviewed, and in some cases, have youngsters “shadow” them, or follow them for several hours or an entire day.

Three things moved me most as I listened, learned and shared with these teens. First, they are so hopeful. Second, they’re eager to combine doing something to help others with earning money. Third, occupations they are considering often come directly from their life experiences.

CSC Co-director talking with and listening to students about

possible careers in construction

Here are a few things I heard from these young people (I’m omitting their names, but the quotes are real).

AI wrote: “I noticed that everyone around me except me and my sister wore glasses. My mother recently had eye surgery.” This led to an interest in optometry.

As. wrote: “My brother had a heart disease growing up, and the doctors in Kenya couldn’t help him. His condition was one of the main reasons we moved here. Helping people with heart problems feels personal and important to me.” This person is interested in medicine.

AL wrote: “I lived on a really steep hill, so (when I fell), I got pretty bruised and had an infection where I got harmed. Seeing my own blood and going to the doctors made me realize I didn’t want to be in the medical area at all. I experienced extreme nausea and discomfort when I saw blood.”

This young person continued: “I had speech and communication problems as a child, which made it difficult for me to interact with people and explain myself. These difficulties piqued my interest in speech pathology and motivated me to seek career opportunities in that area to help young children the way I was cared for and provided for. Since I myself witnessed firsthand the profound impact that speech pathology can have on individuals struggling with similar difficulties, I’m driven by a need to help others overcome their communication obstacles.”

Mo. wrote: “My current tentative career plan is to become an Engineer and work hard in that field. The problems Engineers face causes them to develop expertise in finding solutions.”

Na. wrote: “I would like to work specifically with teens or children. I’ve always valued mental health, and I’d like to make it so any children don’t have to suffer from it.”

Ni. explained: “My family moved a lot when I was growing up, which sparked my interest in houses and neighborhoods. As a kid I imagined myself helping families find their perfect homes and making sure that they are happy when buying their dream home.” This person is considering being a real estate agent.

Another youngster wrote, “Helping people has always been important for me, and if I can live a life doing something that can help people in need, I will be satisfied.”

Each of these young people are East African American. Despite many challenges, they are hopeful and want to be helpful.

We’ve been helping them create online materials so others can learn from interviews they’re doing with professionals in the fields that interest them. When these materials are completed and posted, I’ll explain in a future column how to access them.

Your family members could do the same. You could help teens interview people who have jobs they might want to have and post what they learn on social media. This way, young people will not only be learning, but sharing.

This summer activity can help inform something that’s supposed to happen for every Minnesota youngster: A state law requires that schools help each student prepare a post-high-school plan. That’s supposed to be done in cooperation with the family.

Little Falls High School students on a day of community service where

some also learned about possible careers

Though I wrote recently about the dangers of the internet and social media, posting students’ findings can be a way that social media is helpful.

Joe Nathan, Ph.D., formerly was a Minnesota public school educator and PTA president. He’s co-director of the Center for School Change. Reactions welcome: joe@centerforschoolchange.org.