High school students explore careers in engineering through Kirkwood’s Workplace Learning Connection

Many young people have thoughts and ideas about what they want to be when they grow up, even if they’re not quite sure what the career entails.

Kirkwood Community College’s Workplace Learning Connection (WLC) works to help young people learn more about career paths in which they may be interested.

WLC works to provide career exploration opportunities for middle and high school students. Staff work with schools and businesses in seven counties in the area — Benton, Cedar, Iowa, Johnson, Jones, Linn and Washington.

“We work with schools grades six through twelve,” said Kristine Bullock, WLC director. “We start early and work with schools to bring in classroom speakers, have students do industry tours and one-day, two-to-four-hour job shadows. That lets students dip their toes into a number of different things.”

Additionally, if students are interested beyond those initial opportunities, staff work to match students with mentors who provide internship opportunities.

“The internship program is meant to be a capstone experience for students who have already done some introductory career exploration to do a deeper dive into an area they are interested in,” Bullock said.

Rochelle Sowers, WLC internship coordinator, works closely with schools and businesses to make sure students and families are aware of the internship application process.

“We are always developing new internship opportunities,” Sowers said. “We are very student driven. When a student is interested in a particular career, we research different opportunities out there and contact that business.”

According to Bullock and Sowers, engineering is one career area that currently has a significant amount of student interest.

Quinn Oleson, a current senior at Xavier High School in Cedar Rapids and WLC participant, knew he wanted to be an engineer, but wasn’t completely sure what direction he wanted to take in the field.

“I knew I wanted to be an engineer, but I was struggling to decide what field I wanted to go into,” Quinn said. “My thought process in participating in the program was to see if I could see myself doing this job or being in this field.”

His mother, Ann Oleson, thought it would be beneficial for him to get involved with WLC’s job shadowing and internship program.

“That actual real job experience, and seeing and being able to look at that before going to college was incredibly important for me,” Ann said. “Neither myself nor Quinn’s dad is an engineer.”

Quinn participated in two different opportunities. His first internship was with West Plains Engineering in Cedar Rapids, which designs mechanical and electrical systems. His second internship was with MSI Mold Builders in Cedar Rapids, which designs and builds various types of molds.

Based on his variety of experiences through WLC, Quinn plans to major in engineering in college. “My internships made it so much easier for me to know what I want to do in the future — being able to see what engineers do every day. Seeing what the job looks like,” he said.

Both Olesons credit the program with helping Quinn learn more about engineering and focus on his future career path.

“The WLC has been great. They give you a workbook to track your progress and goals to think about what you’re learning,” Quinn said.

Local businesses also see value in the program. Trevor Conrad, partner at Modus Engineering with the Iowa City branch, has been working with WLC for several years to provide job shadowing and internship opportunities to students. Modus provides engineering design services in a number of areas, so has the ability to provide interested students with a variety of opportunities. Conrad, a graduate of Iowa State University, has been a mechanical engineer for 24 years, and has been working for Modus since 2006.

“We like to give students more practical experience about what engineering actually is. They get to see what an office environment is like and what engineers do,” Conrad said. “It helps them understand what the industry does and what to expect when they get out to a workplace.”

Conrad says he would recommend other local businesses to participate in the program.

“Overall, I think it’s a great program. It helps area students who are thinking about potential careers. It gets them practical experience. I would recommend anyone interested, whether it’s a student or a potential employer to participate in the program,” he said.

WLC offers a wide variety of career exploration opportunities, and both Bullock and Sowers said they are always looking for new mentors to participate, especially in the engineering field.

To learn more about how a student can be apply, or how a business can partner with WLC to provide opportunities, visit kirkwood.edu/workplace-learning-connection.