TUPELO — The Toyota Wellspring Education Fund (TWEF) at the CREATE Foundation has been the lead sponsor the last six years for an interactive Imagine the Possibilities (ItP) Career Expo, which is in its second year of a virtual experience. The culmination of the work of 10th-grade students learning about 18 career pathways took place with Apple product prize presentations to 30 students across 16 schools in northeast Mississippi.
In order to incentivize participation in the virtual event, 10th-grade students had the opportunity to win points by interacting with the resources and answering simple reflection questions. These students were able to see a live leaderboard with their school and across the counties, and the points allowed students to enter into a drawing for Apple product prizes.
Based on the six Mississippi High School Athletics Association (MHSAA) classifications, winners for each level were drawn for a total of 30 winners. Winners included Columbus High School students Quintasia Hodgesl, who won BeatX earphones, and Kiya Curry, who won a MacBook Air.
The Toyota Wellspring Education Fund team collected data on school participation with the virtual career expo in the 17 counties served in northeast Mississippi.
The participation data from October 2021-February 2022 revealed a participation rate of 32.41 percent across approximately 6,551 10th-graders in all participating schools. However, the participation in the school districts that have career coaches, also supported by the TWEF, as well as administrative leadership that championed the initiative had a significantly higher participation rate of 59.74 percent in comparison to 12.88 percent in schools that did not have a Career Coach.
The virtual format of the Imagine the Possibilities Career Expo is accessible via the website — www.itpcareerexpo.com — and app throughout the course of the school year even though the competition window ended. Individuals interested in accessing all content create a login that is the same for both avenues. Once logged into the website or app, students are taken to a home screen where they can watch an overview of the interactive experience. They can then access information all 18 pathways with each pathway including a pathway overview video, pathway resources, a “day in the life” videos, mentor for a minute clips, and a podcast.
“By engaging students in the virtual Imagine the Possibilities Career Expo, we are exposing students to a variety of career options within our region,” shared Kristy Luse, vice president of the Toyota Wellspring Education Fund.
Learn more about Imagine the Possibilities at createfoundation.com.
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