The entirety of the school day on Oct. 12 is taken up by the second annual Game Day, an advantageous experience for all grade levels to come face to face with some options for after high school. Each grade level has different personalized learning opportunities throughout the school day, most of which were planned by Pathways Coordinators Rachel Steil and Bob Manning. 

Game Day is an opportunity for planning and exploring post-secondary options after high school. Many events including college tours, both virtual and in-person, career field trips, the ACT and PSAT, and interest surveys are provided that day.

“We help kids discover themselves and figure out what they want to do after high school,” Pathways coordinator Bob Manning said. These tools and activities help further enhance student interest and ideas for their future.

Some new aspects of Game Day this year are the wide-ranging and combined career field trips. One focused on the art and business aspects and the other focused on healthcare and STEM. Manning explained that it is meant to “open kids’ minds and see what’s happening.” Incorporating these trips into the day is crucial for a true view into working people’s lives in possible future career options.

For the seniors, there is many opportunities including college tours, meetings with recruiters from all four branches of the military, college and career workshop and either one of the career field trips. This day was more to finalize their plan for at least the next few years after high school rather than exploring options. Whether that be a job, college, or the military.

English teacher Rachel Steil said most seniors already know where or what they are doing so we wanted to create some opportunities more specific to simple things not yet learned. This includes, how to build a resume, where and how you apply for a job, and how to get scholarships. 

Juniors, on the other hand, are still fully exploring their options. They could have gone to colleges, met with military branch members, attended a career trip and unlike the seniors, could take the PSAT. Junior Griffin Stone said he believes he is “getting an early jumpstart to college tours and an understanding of where you might want to go for college.” when going to the University of Minnesota as his chosen Game Day path. The top 8 schools that are reachable in one day’s time from the high school are listed as options for students to visit and others farther away were added virtually.

Sophomores have the opportunity to take the Pre-ACT or the PSAT as their future planning begins. The Pre-ACT gave students a free practice ACT and guided them through how the tests are going to feel and familiarize them with the content of the test. The PSAT, when taken and if performed well on, can open doors to several National Merit Scholarships. These exams help to create a path that students can follow and understand deeper with what their options for colleges and careers may entail. Steil explains how the exams can help students see where they are on the academic spectrum for future college and career planning. 

The freshmen are just beginning the basics of planning their futures. These students were given a YouScience test to assess their interests and explore different careers based on their natural abilities and what they are interested in. This was made to kickstart their drive to investigate possible options for their future and gave them the chance to find out what lifestyle and career could possibly suit them best. Manning likes to “help kids discover themselves and figure out what they want to do after high school.” 

The second annual Game day was on Oct. 12, with so many new and improved eye-opening elements, carefully planned by Pathways coordinators Rachel Steil and Bob Manning. Game day was a great way that our students, of all grade levels, got to experience planning for their future in different ways of their choosing.