Building Bridges Between

Building Bridges Between Business and Education

Learn about the Wasatch Centers for Advanced Professional Studies (CAPS) program

Most high school juniors and seniors are suffering through chemistry and calculus, and dreaming of graduation. But high school students in the Centers for Advanced Professional Studies (CAPS) program are designing facades for their local community centers, raising chukars and releasing them into the wild, redesigning websites for local businesses, and so much more.

Through CAPS, students in the Davis, Duchesne County, Nebo, Provo City, Park City, and Wasatch school districts work with local businesses and industry mentors to develop professional skills while still in high school. The program builds connections between local companies and students to help prepare the next generation of employees. Communication, problem-solving, productivity, collaboration, social skills, and creativity are just a few of the targeted skills the program hopes students will develop.

“We found that local businesses struggled to find recent college graduates who had professional skills,” said Wasatch CAPS Director Weston Broadbent. “These recent graduates were smart and welleducated, but struggled when it came to something as simple as writing a clear, concise email or having basic problem-solving skills.” Courses offered through CAPS vary by location. Through the Wasatch CAPS program in Heber City, for example, Wasatch High School students can take classes in business, marketing, entrepreneurship, engineering and industrial design, medicine and health, digital design and software development, environment, and agriculture. Industry partners who are part of the CAPS program agree to assign students projects that meet real business needs, require research and diligence, and have an end goal or deliverable tied to a business outcome. Students work in groups of two or three per project and, in many cases, students cross-collaborate between courses to gain exposure in a variety of areas of study.

Students work on high-level projects that expose them to aspects of management and leadership. Some of the current projects at Wasatch CAPS include creating a new marketing campaign for the Zermatt Utah Resort in Midway, analyzing different summer amenities for the Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation at Soldier Hollow, learning the value and power of digital marketing by creating search engine optimization (SEO) and content for a website startup, and creating patient experience videos for Intermountain Healthcare.

Students say they love the CAPS program, and for some, like Erik Figueroa, the experience is life-changing.

“I wasn’t going to classes. I was sluffing a lot,” said Figueroa. “My parents never finished high school, and I’m the oldest of my siblings, and I wanted them to be proud of me. CAPS provided the opportunities I was interested in and helped shape my future.”

Figueroa had a 2.1 GPA before joining CAPS with no plans for the future. Through CAPS, he worked with Alpine Development on a townhome project in Heber City. Figueroa and his classmates were in charge of land surveys and a logo and name for the project. The experience made Figueroa feel energized and excited about school. He was a leader at CAPS and helped his team with several challenging problems. The experience left a lasting effect on his life. Figueroa is now working to save money for college.

Businesses that work with CAPS programs can be involved in education in a meaningful way. The CAPS students, in turn, are trained and prepared to be better employees. CAPS is one of Utah’s important bridges between business and education.