INDUSTRY INSIGHT
EDUCATION
CWNC Prepares
Students for Life
Through Career
Development
Program
By Lisa Logan
s high schools
increasingly place
emphasis on
preparing students for
post-secondary education
and their future careers,
a growing number of
teachers are fusing
classroom learning with
hands-on experience.
At Cardinal Wuerl North
Catholic (CWNC), Jennifer
Parsons, program manager
of the Career Development
Program, combines academics with career exploration.
Students begin with a Career Action Plan (CAP) during their freshman
year. This is part of their e-portfolio in which they self-report on their
career interests and where they research work environments. Developing
portfolios helps students identify where their passions lie and prepares
them for their career. They build on their CAP throughout high school
and complete additional research and activities, such as conducting
interviews with people in their chosen career fields, researching majors,
certifications, and potential job shadowing prospects. The students
continue to expand their self-awareness skills by creating cover letters,
resumes and participating in mock interviews.
“I applied for an internship this year and the CAP really helped me
in writing my cover letter,” says Gillian Ward, an incoming senior at
CWNC. “Before CAP, I did not know what a cover letter was. Having the
background knowledge and
help in writing one, I was
much more comfortable in
applying for the internship.”
In addition, the Career
Development Program
at CWNC just finished its
second year and continues
to expand. The career-related
“My Path” Speaker Series has
proven to be very popular
A
SPONSORED CONTENT
with students and is always followed or preceded by a hands-on field
trip in the related career area.
“This is what it is all about — helping students explore careers and
giving them exposure to a variety of possibilities, so that when it comes
time to make decisions such as choosing a major, potential career, or
school, they can make the decision with confidence,” says Parsons.
“Sometimes it is about helping a student narrow their focus or even
cross a career off their list and that is OK, too.”
The career development program does not stop in the summer
either. In its second year, students can participate in College Caravan,
in which students tour local colleges and universities. The College
Caravan allows students to get familiar with schools and programs and
experience the day-to-day life of a college student.
CWNC helps students excel in academics, discover their strengths,
and acquire the skills necessary to prepare them for post-secondary
education and beyond. Anyone interested in learning more about
CWNC and the career development program can contact Jennifer
Parsons at 412.321.4823, ext. 134, or at [email protected].
This Industry Insight was written by Lisa Logan, the Marketing
and Admissions Director at Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic High
School. Since beginning her career, Lisa has amassed marketing
communications experience in both the corporate and non-profit
sectors as an in-house communications leader. She received her
Bachelor of Communications degree from McMaster University
and now lives in Pittsburgh with her husband.
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