North Platte Post
North Platte, Neb. - Over 260 North Platte High School juniors got to participate in the 4-H "Connecting the Dots" event on Thursday in the Auxiliary gym at the high school.
The event featured 16 different areas students can identify as a career path and 16 experts where at the tables helping students identify potential jobs in their career cluster that they might be interested. During the event, students were paired up and would be given a card.
The card would tell them their education level which were all different levels. Some students had luck of the draw cards while others would be missing requirements for four-year university (University of Nebraska-Lincoln) which would lead them over to the two-year college tables represented by MPCC and NCTA. The military also had a table where students could use as a resource for the simulation based upon the information given on their card.
After securing a two-year degree, four-year degree or a master's degree, students than would venture off to the tables to learn more about careers. Students were given a career sheet but had to have the right level of education to earn the sheet, if not they would have to return to the UNL table. The students were given four rounds and by the end of the day, should have received job sheets they identify as a potential interest in that career.
Before starting the event, students were given advice by experts which some advice given included: research potential careers, job shadow, ask questions, be willing to take on any job, watch out what you post on social media, be involved, don't let failure get to you and so much more.
The juniors learned a lot from the experts and had a great time. "I really didn't know what to expect heading into this event, but I am glad that I asked questions and learned more about future jobs in my career cluster", said one student. "The experts were really helpful and answering all my questions thoughtful and with complete honesty", said another student.
Students walked out of the gym on Thursday with great knowledge and now have identified some potential career paths they are interested in pursuing after graduation.