American Student Opportunity Collaborative: Career Exploration in Rural Communities
American Student Opportunity Collaborative is using Catalyze funding to expand virtual and in-person middle school career exploration programming to rural communities in Colorado and Ohio through their partnership with National Rural Education Association. Their work empowers students as "path-makers" through virtual coaching, career counseling, and exposure to dual enrollment, CTE, and industry credentials.
“If we wait until junior year in high school to teach kids to explore career options, it’s too late. It’s too late to figure out what courses they ought to have taken in high school, what extracurriculars they should’ve done, what summer jobs they should’ve gone after—but it’s also often too late for kids to understand that idea that you can do whatever you want to do, you can be whoever you want to be.”
Round Four of the Catalyze Challenge awarded a total of $3.5 million to four organizations to expand career-connected learning opportunities and support meaningful outcomes for learners aged 11-22. These two-year grants focus on career exploration for young adolescents and activating industry partnerships and are expected to positively impact more than 60,000 learners.
