Great Careers Conference 2022, Connecting Students to Their Future!

For the past decade, the Issaquah Schools Foundation has partnered with the Issaquah Chamber of Commerce Education Committee and the Issaquah School District to provide a chance for high school students to learn about the opportunities available to them in addition to a four-year college. The goal of the conference is to educate high school students about careers they can pursue through on-the-job training, certification, apprenticeship, or two-year degree programs.

One of the Issaquah School District’s goals for its graduates is stated in the E-2 Academics and Foundation standard – Upon graduation, students will be academically prepared and confident to pursue higher education or specialized career training.

The Foundation and the Issaquah Chamber of Commerce Education Committee agree with the District that every student must pursue schooling beyond high school to earn a living wage. We believe that our community typically defines success as achieving a four-year degree. Unfortunately, a four-year degree may be out of financial reach for many students and may not align with their interests or aptitude. To this end, the Issaquah Schools Foundation, the Issaquah Chamber Education Committee, the Issaquah School District Career & Technical Education, Lake Washington Institute of Technology, Bellevue College, Renton Technical College, City of Issaquah, and the Port of Seattle, and the local business community have come together to rethink this definition of success.

As a result, the Great Careers Conference provides a forum to inform students (and their parents) of other opportunities available to them. These may provide a greater return on their investment or simply allow them to make a more informed decision about their future course of study.

The Great Careers Conference 2022 will be held on Tuesday, March 15, 2022, at the Gibson Ek High School located at 379 – 1st Place SE, Issaquah. High school students that are interested will need to pre-register. To learn more, visit https://www. isdstemandcte.com/great-careers or isfdn.org.

This opportunity will be open to all Issaquah School District 9th-12th grade high school students. Transportation is provided to and from the conference venue. Permission slips are required and need to be submitted as part of the registration process. All Covid-19 mitigation and protocols will be adhered to as required by King County and the Washington State Department of Health.

This year, the conference format will be in-person and expo style. Students will be free to meet directly with representatives from various schools or specific industries of interest. The day is filled with speakers in student-selected career pathways, soft skills integration, and exhibitors representing apprenticeship programs, military, certificated programs, and colleges with 2-year degrees. Here are some of the areas to explore:

- A/V Technology: What does it take to provide entertainment to the end user? Discover what professional opportunities involve the presentation of sound, video, and data.

- Business Management & Finance: Support business operations through a variety of office duties; use financial, human, and material resources; or protect individuals and businesses from losses by providing insurance.

- Education & Training: If you want to have a lifelong impact on others, then you will want to look closely at the Education and Training Career Cluster.

- Entrepreneurship: Learn about the various requirements to become successful as an entrepreneur, including conducting opportunity analysis, developing a business plan, starting a small business, acquiring financing to start the company, and scaling the business.

- Health Sciences: Prepare for a career that promotes health, wellness, diagnosis, and/or treats injuries and diseases.

- Hospitality, Food & Beverage Services: If you are intrigued by the idea of helping others explore the beauty and culture of cuisine in the world around them, you will want to join this session. Discover the variety of tasks required to maintain operations and promote guest services.

- Information Technology Information: Technology careers are available in every sector of the economy. Careers in IT involve designing, developing, supporting, and managing hardware, software, multimedia, and systems integration services.

- Public Safety: Guard the public and enforce the law as a police officer, security guard, or more. Come to the rescue and provide fire protection and emergency response services as a firefighter!

- Marketing: Be part of the marketing process that seeks to establish and satisfy the needs and wants of individuals who buy goods, services, and ideas.

- Transportation & Maritime: Learn about careers and businesses involved in the planning, management and movement of people, materials, and products by road, air, rail, and water. Demand for these jobs is high—even in a pandemic!

The Issaquah Schools Foundation is proud to support programs like this to connect students to their future!