Everyone can participate in DiscoverU! The week is simply about supporting students in our region to explore their college and career options, in school and the community. If you’re a business, you might post pictures of careers at your company to #DiscoverUWA so that students and educators can see the jobs in our local economy. If you’re a parent, you can point out the careers you see when you’re going from place to place with your student.
The DiscoverU website has lots of resources to help educators engage with youth to explore different career pathways. A great place to start is our Theme Days! Similar to “Spirit Week,” these themes provide simple ideas for how you can bring college and career preparedness into your classroom every day.
Monday, October 7: Discover Local Jobs
Washington State employers will add 373,000 net new jobs in the next 5 yrs*.Let’s make sure our students know about what opportunities are available to them locally.
From technology to healthcare to aerospace, our local sectors are growing. To kick off DiscoverU, let’s introduce our youth to the career possibilities in our region. Connect students with local young professionals from different career fields, share facts about the types of jobs that are growing and available, and help them learn about local employers.
Resources:
#DiscoverLocalJobs Alumni Stories Printable
“What Jobs Do You See?” Poster
“What Jobs Do You See?” Activity & Coloring Packet
*Source: Washington Roundtable
Tuesday, October 8: Lead Your Community
Today is all about building a better community. Introduce students to community-oriented work or connect them to leadership opportunities in their neighborhoods and outside of the classroom.
Nonprofit and public sector jobs can be rewarding career paths, but our students don’t often have the opportunity to learn about them. Today, students can explore ways that their future career paths can help them positively impact the communities they live in, participate in meaningful work, and create a better world.
Resources:
#LeadYourCommunity Alumni Stories Printable
Wednesday, October 9: Classroom to Career
Students sometimes wonder, “Why do I need to learn this?” Today, take time to show your students how classroom content connects to local careers.
Educators and parents, this is your chance to dive into a question that students often ask during lessons or while doing homework: “Why do I need to learn this?” Show students how what they’re learning can be applied to future careers. For example, if they are currently taking algebra, you might want to demonstrate how it is used in carpentry, business, or engineering. Also, it’s important to describe how educational pathways can lead to a particular job. Suggestion: feature one career each day of the week, or even the rest of the school year!
Resources:
#ClassroomToCareer Alumni Stories Printable
“What Jobs Do You See?” Poster
Thursday, October 10: College Gear Day
Show school pride by wearing your college’s gear and discussing college knowledge!
Promote a college-going culture today by wearing your school’s gear and sharing your college experience! What school(s) did you go to? What did you study? What were your favorite college memories? Did you live at home or on campus? How did you pay for college? Let students know about the various education paths they could take, including technical training programs, apprenticeships, or two-year colleges. For older students, use this opportunity to focus on aspects of the college-going process like applying for financial aid or talking to them about the transition beyond high school.
Resources:
#CollegeGearDay Alumni Stories Printable
College and Career Exploragories
Friday, October 11: Flash Forward Friday
What do students see when they look into their futures? To cap off DiscoverU week, set up activities for students to share their visions.
It’s the last day of DiscoverU and today you can help students transport themselves into the future and envision where they want to be. Students can create time capsules, dress up as their future profession, write letters to their future selves, or pose in a Flash Forward Friday virtual photo booth. We want to see what the region’s students have in mind for their very bright futures!
Resources: