I was really excited to head out into downtown Durango yesterday to start meeting potential mentors and Power Lunch presenters--it's so great to meet folks face-to-face and learn more about some of the cool things happening in our community every day.
First, I met with Kathleen McInnis, Executive Director at Southwestern Colorado Area Health Education Center, a nonprofit here in Durango that works to improve health care options in our rural region. This three person office has so much going on--including planning for a summer camp for 8th through 10th graders who want to learn more about careers in the health care field (working with them to make this camp fun and successful next summer would make a totally great LINK project for the right student--someone interested in medicine, nonprofit management and/or event planning). The folks from SWAHEC will likely come in for a Power Lunch in January with a presentation that will share information about the wide range of career paths--beyond nursing or becoming a doctor--in the health care field, plus tips about how to pursue them.
Next, it was off to iAM (Independent Artist Management), a very new business on Main Avenue in a cool, open space near the Durango Herald. iAM is both a music school and a music management business, and it's run by Jesse Ogle and Ashley Edwards, who also happen to be in the band Hello Dollface. They offer lessons in voice, guitar, piano and percussion with an emphasis on creating original music. We're looking to bring Jesse and Ashley in for a Power Lunch in October, and interning with them would be super cool for a musically-inclined student who would like to learn more about the business side, including booking bands for show, contacting radio stations and more.
Finally, five folks who have mentored AHS students in past LINK internships visited with us during Junior Seminar, so we had the opportunity to learn more about what it would be like to work at Open Shutter Gallery, Durango Nature Studies, StoneAge Waterblast Tools and the Durango Discovery Museum (thank you Margy Dudley, Sally Shuffield, Batsy Fitzpatrick, Ashely Hein and Hannah Hendry!).
So many great possibilities out there for our students--we're certainly fortunate to live in a community where these organizations and businesses are so willing to open their doors to our kids and give the chance to take on real-world responsibilities and do interesting, valuable work!
First, I met with Kathleen McInnis, Executive Director at Southwestern Colorado Area Health Education Center, a nonprofit here in Durango that works to improve health care options in our rural region. This three person office has so much going on--including planning for a summer camp for 8th through 10th graders who want to learn more about careers in the health care field (working with them to make this camp fun and successful next summer would make a totally great LINK project for the right student--someone interested in medicine, nonprofit management and/or event planning). The folks from SWAHEC will likely come in for a Power Lunch in January with a presentation that will share information about the wide range of career paths--beyond nursing or becoming a doctor--in the health care field, plus tips about how to pursue them.
Next, it was off to iAM (Independent Artist Management), a very new business on Main Avenue in a cool, open space near the Durango Herald. iAM is both a music school and a music management business, and it's run by Jesse Ogle and Ashley Edwards, who also happen to be in the band Hello Dollface. They offer lessons in voice, guitar, piano and percussion with an emphasis on creating original music. We're looking to bring Jesse and Ashley in for a Power Lunch in October, and interning with them would be super cool for a musically-inclined student who would like to learn more about the business side, including booking bands for show, contacting radio stations and more.
Finally, five folks who have mentored AHS students in past LINK internships visited with us during Junior Seminar, so we had the opportunity to learn more about what it would be like to work at Open Shutter Gallery, Durango Nature Studies, StoneAge Waterblast Tools and the Durango Discovery Museum (thank you Margy Dudley, Sally Shuffield, Batsy Fitzpatrick, Ashely Hein and Hannah Hendry!).
So many great possibilities out there for our students--we're certainly fortunate to live in a community where these organizations and businesses are so willing to open their doors to our kids and give the chance to take on real-world responsibilities and do interesting, valuable work!