A wide variety of Killeen ISD schools and programs aimed at preparing students for life after high school joined local partners during a Future Ready Expo Thursday at the KISD Career Center.
Elementary and middle school students, with parents and other family members made their way through the broad open hallway where they met with representatives of KISD Career and Technical Education programs, as well as the STEM Academy, fine arts, athletics, advanced academics, multilingual services, Junior ROTC and other groups.
Animal science, architectural design, video game design, welding, automotive technology, audio-visual production, dental assistant, culinary arts and emergency medical technician all took part, along with many others.
Some of the strongest advocates were high school students currently enrolled in a KISD CTE program.
Career Center senior Eduardo Robles was quick to share what he has learned in robotics courses.
“It’s multi-functional,” he said, explaining that the robotics program has given him an avenue to get his license to operate drones and a Fanuc robotic arm in a high-tech industrial environment.
“If I don’t want to send a rover to Mars, I can work for a big company and do coding. This program offers many outlets, I would say, so you don’t feel like you’re going toward just one objective,” Robles said.
“These programs are free. All we have to do is learn and study and pass the test and we are certified,” he said.
KISD CTE Director Patrice Robinson said the expo serves to bring together a huge variety of disciplines to help students and their families become familiar with the vast high school and post-secondary options available.
“We invited all of our departments, everybody, because we want our families to know the great opportunities we have,” she said. This is the time of year eighth-graders make choices for high school and form their future plan.
“There are so many elementary students here, which is fun to see,” Robinson pointed out. “They ask questions. They are inquisitive. That’s really what we want so they can explore a lot earlier.”
The Career Center hosted another Future Ready Expo last fall.
KISD’s first-ever Future Ready Expo for Career Exploration for fourth- through seventh-graders is coming up on Saturday, Feb. 22 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Clifton Park Elementary School.
Students and their families will get a chance to learn from area professionals how to prepare for a variety of careers.
Career Expo photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/killeenisd/albums/72177720323827216
