GRAND CHUTE, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – A building on Fox Valley Technical College’s campus is helping middle and high school students find their career paths.
The Community First Career Exploration and Financial Literacy Center held an open house event in Grand Chute Wednesday.
The center will offer STEM-related and financial literacy programs for students in grades four through 12, throughout Northeast Wisconsin.
Inside the building, participating businesses in the area have their own storefronts, which teach students about the types of jobs they offer and need.
Michael Frohna, president of Junior Achievement of Wisconsin, tells FOX 11 students will be able to come and experience what it’s like to live in a real economy, find out what real jobs exist in the area and how to prepare for those jobs.
“We know that experiential learning is a great way for individuals to discover really what their passions are and once they understand what some of their interests are, how do they go about exploring them? We like to say, ‘you can’t be what you can’t see,’ so in order to bring students to a place where they’re able to experience what it’s like to be a part of a team, part of a community, contributing members of an economy, we think that’s all really fundamental to people’s upbringing and they can do it in a safe place, so if they make mistakes here, maybe they’ll be avoiding those mistakes later in life.”
Frohna says the center is the second-of-its-kind in Wisconsin but it’s the only one with a partnership with a technical college.
“That partnership is enriching because what it does is it allows for the jobs we have here for students to partake in, in their modified economy and community, reflects the career clusters that Fox Valley Technical College teaches, because of that synergy, we believe that this community will be enriched by workers coming right out of high school who will be prepared to go into the technical trades, continue their education at Fox Valley Technical College and really just help the community thrive.”
Officials say they expect more than 15,000 students throughout Northeast Wisconsin will participate in programs at the center each year through their schools.
