Over two days, sixteen community members spent an afternoon with Farnsworth Middle School students, sharing about their careers and the career cluster they represented. Students rotated through presentations on career clusters such as Education, Finance, Hospitality, Government, and more.

The event received positive support from both students and guest speakers.

Sixth-grade teacher Brenna McDonough said, “My students were super engaged and seemed to take a lot away from the event. All students in my group asked multiple questions in each presentation. Many of their questions were about the types of skills they needed to work in that career, what schooling was needed for the career, and what the daily tasks were for the career.”

Activities like this are part of the District’s Academic and Career Planning (ACP) process, where students create their own pathways for future success through self-discovery and career exploration.

In middle school, the main focus of ACP is exposing students to different career clusters to help them explore potential interests in future career paths. As students progress into high school, they create resumes, research post-secondary options, and consider a service-based or workplace learning experience.

The presenters made it fun for the students by sharing interesting facts about their work. “One of their favorites was learning how even adults in marketing careers are using TikTok to advertise,” Ms. McDonough shared.

This is the third year of this event, which was organized by school counselor Jill Wetzel. She shared, “These types of events are a great way for the community and schools to work together.” Half of the guest speakers returned to present for the second time. “It was truly a pleasure to engage with the students, and I hope our discussions left a positive impact on them,” shared one of the presenters.

Visit the Sheboygan Area School District website to learn more about Academic and Career Planning: https://www.sheboygan.k12.wi.us/programs/academic-career-planning