“I believe that the College and Career Center should be accessible to all students because not everybody comes from a home where the family is the advocate and has the means to get all this information to students. The College and Career Center is there for help with applications, processes and just exposure to options.” Parking and Attendance Secretary Alison Brodersen-Schroeder explained the resources available to students.

She will be the new advisor of the College and Career Center this year. She is expected to switch positions from being the parking and attendance secretary in the Main Office within the next few months.

The current College and Career Center is not up and running because of the absence of an advisor. Shroeder is expected to take over that role this year once a new staff member has been hired to fill her current position in the Main Office. During her 5 years working here, she has made connections with students in the office and will now be able to provide them with college and career support and advice.

When asked what other new changes we will see in the College and Career Center, Schroeder said, “Our school now has a Pathways program, I think there’s going to be integration between the center and Pathways. Our courses will now direct students based on their interests.”

The Pathways program focuses on what students want to do with their careers post high school. This will be a great addition to the College and Career Center and will focus more on individuals and what is right for them.  

When going to the center, students will be able to learn about colleges, applying for FAFSA, financial aid and career programs.

“My understanding is that we will have college and admission representatives come and visit our school from various local and nearby surrounding state universities. So students will have opportunities at school to visit those universities rather than have to do them on their own personal time,” Schroeder explained.

Schroeder wants to make the College and Career center more inclusive for all students and hopes to make the post-high school decision process as stress free as possible. 

The center will also be adding many more opportunities to learn about out of state colleges. This is very important for students looking to branch out and explore after high school. The programs offered last year did not apply to all students so this change will give more students a chance to discover the possibilities for their futures.

“I hope to help students gain exposure to universities that have programs that are geared towards those interests. So not necessarily your Minnesota and Wisconsin universities that are all good schools, but more who has strong programs and what they are offering,” Schroeder said.

The center will be breaking away from the traditional mold of a college and career center to focus on students’ needs. A lot of improvement is going to be made this year. In the past, the focus was mainly on college opportunities, but it will now provide just as much career information and opportunities as well.

Assistant Principal explains, “We’re trying to find sort of that Goldilocks zone, where everything fits perfectly. And there’s that balance between giving our students the supports that will be most effective in getting them to that next step following high school.”

The College and Career Center has done great in the past and strives to become even better.

The change to more career focus excites many students, including senior Gracie Johnston. “I feel like the biggest help the center can provide is helping students figure out what they want to do. For me as a senior, I am still uncertain about my path after graduation and it’d be a very big help if somebody could guide me a little bit because there’s so many career choices,” Johnston said.

So many students need and want that guidance that the center is looking to provide and expand on. With Schroeder joining their team, they aim to help as many students as possible and improve everyone’s experiences. 

The College and Career center is still in the process of being updated, but many great changes are to occur this year. Alison Schroeder is going to take charge and provide students with the help they need to plan their futures.