Pathways Day is happening on Oct. 23, and with that comes new activities for freshmen and new tours for juniors and seniors. Freshmen will be doing a mix of career-oriented activities and e-learning assignments. Sophomores will be in the school taking the Pre-ACT. Juniors and seniors have the opportunity to tour different colleges and careers that they can sign up for in SchooLinks. All of this is to help prepare students for college and careers after high school.
Freshmen students have two options on Pathways Day; stay home and participate in e-learning, or come to school and engage in a fusion of e-learning and career based activities. Not only will the activities be informative and beneficial for students, they will also be helpful for others in the community.
Pathways Coordinator Rachel Steil said that students engage in “fully remote e-learning or they can come to campus and participate in both e-learning and a community service project.”
Sophomores will take the Pre-ACT during the day. The Pre-ACT is incredibly important to take for someone who is planning on going to college, as it prepares students for the full ACT, which is necessary for many college applications. It can still be a useful tool for someone who is not planning on going to college.
“Students are able to gain an understanding of what a high stakes test is like and learn what they need to improve upon before they take the actual test,” Pathways Coordinator Bob Manning said.
Juniors and seniors are able to pick from a number of different college or career tours. This differs from prior years, where juniors could only do career tours and seniors could only do college tours. This means that each of the two grade levels gets more options to choose from and can explore the possibilities of different paths with ease.
According to Steil, there are several different options available for students to pick from, including 11 career tours and 12 college tours, along with military recruitment options.
As Pathways Day gets closer, it is important to remember to approach it with curiosity and excitement rather than judgment and displeasure. those who go in with an open mind will get more out of it. Pathways Day is an incredible resource to help students learn about what their options are.
Freshman Jesse Kurtz said he is eager to “learn more of what my opportunities are out of high school.”
Students who are ready and put effort into Pathways Day will get so much out of it. “One Stillwater alumni just recently told me that it literally changed the trajectory of his life,” Manning said. The same can be true for each and every student who comes with an engaged mindset and an open mind. All grade levels have fun, varied and informative activities to enjoy.
