I like to compare my year of service to a Grateful Dead tune. Just when you think it’s over, they keep on jammin’ on into the next verse.

Although there has been much less of a psychoactive influence on my year of service than there might have been on a Grateful Dead song, just when I thought I was done growing and learning, I kept jammin’ on into the next verse.

Throughout my time with the Montana Career Lab I have developed a greater understanding of career development, career theory, and why it is important to explore career development as early as pre-school. I have had hands on experience with age appropriate career activities for students at every level while developing leadership ability and self-confidence. I have had the opportunity to travel across the state and network with many wonderful organizations and agencies all promoting the success of students.

There are so many ways in which this year of service has benefited me. I only hope that my time with the Montana Career Lab has had an impact on the students I was able to work with.

My first partnership was with the local Student Aged Child Care (SACC) that ran after school programs out of all but one of Helena’s elementary schools. I started in two schools and was able to build strong relationships with the SACC coordinators and students. Every student in the program picked a career from our Careers Build a Community curriculum and I assisted them in exploring why they chose that career. We completed hands on activities and hosted community speakers to help them gain a better understanding of what that career entailed. Many of the students picked the same careers as their parents but at the end of the unit they all had an opportunity to share what they learned about their chosen career, allowing them to teach their peers about other careers in their community.