Going to the Xtreme: Students learn about life after high school

By Kris Leonhardt

Editor

MARSHFIELD — Approximately 300 junior class students from Marshfield High School and Columbus Catholic High School participated in Xtreme Xploration, held Feb. 7 at UW-Marshfield/Wood County.

During the event, students attended a resource fair, discussed business ethics, and learned about post-secondary education opportunities.

Xtreme Xploration is designed to encourage juniors to begin thinking about what they will pursue following their high school education.

“I think it hit me today that I need to really start getting into looking into what I want to be and what I want to do, where in the past I kind of had an idea but haven’t really sat down and thought about it,” said Marshfield student Sophie Koehn.

Students were asked to bring in a polished résumé and participate in an interview with a local business professional. Approximately 60 community members volunteered to assist with the interviewing process and give the students a feel for what it is like to be one-on-one with a perspective employer.

“Many times they are so nervous to sit down with an adult in our community,” said Marshfield High School Career and Technical Education Coordinator Jennifer Fredrick. “They are just very timid and not really sure what to say, but through some coaching that we do through our English classes and I go into the classes and talk with the students as well, … they come away from this experience feeling so positive and excited about their opportunities.”

The event also allows juniors to learn about job resources and gain a better understanding of opportunities available to them.

Fredrick said, “I hear from employers on a regular basis about the workforce they are looking for, so I think that this opportunity is really great for our employers to be able to talk with students about their workforce needs and, of course, beneficial for our students to have some practice getting ready for those workforce needs they’ll see in the future.”