College and Career Corner

Welcome to the Spring Semester! The end of the school year will be here before we know it, and this month we are hitting the ground running with some exciting programs. Check out the updates below for information to help support your student's plans and preparation for their future.

Last month, more than 15 students attended the Career Café session focused on skilled trade careers featuring Josh Caton from Lawson State Community College. Students learned about the different career-focused programs offered through the Alabama Community College system, and how to explore options and apply after they graduate. This month, students will have the opportunity to visit one of our local community colleges, Jefferson State, and see the programs and opportunities they have available. More information below!

This month our career spotlight is focused on career pathways within the Human Services. This very diverse career cluster contains many different helping and service professions, including cosmetology, massage therapy, hospitality, education, culinary, mental health therapy, social work, and much much more!

These career fields have a lot of benefits and opportunities, including:

• The ability to work with people in meaningful and rewarding careers,
• The opportunity to work with a team to help others, often in active, varied, and exciting settings,
• A variety of levels entry. Some careers require minimal training, while others offer roads to specialization and higher pay,
• Some career fields offer benefit packages and the opportunity to gain security over time.

This Friday, we will have a Career Café guest who works as a massage therapist. Students can sign up to attend here. Later this month, a group of students will also be visiting either Aveda cosmetology school as an additional example of human services career pathways.

Students may sign up to visit Jeff State's Shelby campus for a tour and presentation on the variety of program offerings available at this and other locations. Space is limited with priority given to Seniors and Juniors. Students may register here!

The UA Early College program allows students to earn college credit while they are in high school, and offers a leg up for preparing for college at the University of Alabama. Students can take courses online or on the UA campus during summer sessions, and receive early admission to UA as well as access to scholarships only available to program participants. In this information session, you can learn about the application process, requirements, tuition, benefits, and other important details. This program is open to all current high school students. Register here to attend.

At the beginning of the school year in September, students completed a Career Shadowing interest form to indicate their preferences for participation during the shadowing program this year. This month, our first groups will take their trip to visit the Aveda Institute for cosmetology or Blue Pearl Veterinary clinic. These opportunities will allow students to spend the day on-site to see what the training process and day-to-day responsibilities look like for those who work in cosmetology fields or the veterinary industry. Students will be notified of their match this week, and permission slips will be distributed.

Ready to Work Program: We will be piloting the Ready to Work program for a select group of Seniors. This program is designed to help Seniors build their workforce skills and interview with industry partners from across the Birmingham area with the goal of receiving and accepting an offer for a high-quality position before they graduate high school. If you know your student would like to participate, please have them email me at s.munkachy@mcaabhm.org.

The FAFSA is open! Remember that the state of Alabama requires all students to complete the FAFSA form or a waiver form in order to qualify for graduation. This important process is the first step to qualifying for financial aid in a university, community college, or training program. If you or your family need support in completing this, please reach out to me to schedule a meeting any time! My email is s.munkachy@mcaabhm.org

Deadline for the Feb ACT is Jan 24th. We will hav a registration day to sign up for the February 8th ACT next week on Wednesday, Jan 22nd. If your student would like to take the ACT in February, please make sure they have access to their myACT account prior to the registration day. They will also need to take a photo to upload into their account to verify their identity on test day.

REMINDER: Share acceptance letters with me! I am continuing to build out our shout-out wall on the 2nd floor, and would love to celebrate EVERY acceptance that your student has received! This is also an important record-keeping process for me, as I work to document and support your students' decisions and further applications for financial aid or scholarships. Students can either send a screenshot of an email, or a scanned copy of their official letter-- really anything that shares their admissions decision. I redact all personal information and change any dead names before including it on our shout-out wall.