Pathways to Professions brings thousands of Tyler ISD students to learn about career opportunities

Published 5:40 am Friday, November 22, 2024

From healthcare and engineering to animal science and business, Tyler ISD’s Pathways to Professions event Wednesday morning gave more than 5,000 students a firsthand look at career opportunities within the district’s 24 Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs.

Spanning three campuses — Tyler High School, Tyler Legacy High School, and the Career & Technology Center — the event has grown since its launch in 2018, showcasing the district’s commitment to preparing students for life after graduation.

“It’s an opportunity to bring industry professionals into classrooms related to what our students are studying in their CTE career and technical education classes,” said Jessica Brown, CTE Work-Based Learning Coordinator at Tyler ISD. “We had more than 220 classes that had speakers in them with over 100 professionals.”

Tyler ISD offers 24 distinct CTE programs designed to help students explore potential career paths and develop real-world skills. These programs span a variety of industries, including healthcare, technology, engineering, agriculture, and business, ensuring students have access to opportunities that align with their interests and future goals.

By participating in these programs, students gain hands-on experience and often earn certifications, giving them a competitive edge as they enter the workforce or pursue higher education.

“We love bringing different industries in for our students to learn about opportunities they may not know about,” Brown said. “Like in our law enforcement classes, a lot of people think of just your regular police department but we have different representatives that come in. We’ve got somebody from Texas Parks and Wildlife talking to them about careers in law enforcement and then we have somebody also from the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force that’s here talking to students.”

Businesses represented include Southside Bank, UT Tyler School of Medicine, Hancock Whitney, Conaway Homes, Texas Parks & Wildlife, Habitat for Humanity of Smith County, OIG/US Marshals Task Force, Tyler Pipe, City of Tyler Engineering, UT Health, and many more.

“We’re more interested in teaching them how to start a career than we are just giving them a job,” said Paul Killion, regional human resource manager for AutoZone. “This is my third year doing this and I love it.”

Before each class, Killion teaches his students the same cheer and a pledge that is done before AutoZone meetings.

“It’s how we go about doing business on a daily basis,” he said. “It’s very important that even though we’re out here in the field in a classroom away from an AutoZone store, we do things the same way and we teach our students, we teach the new future employees the right things and how to do business.”

The cheer serves two purposes: energizing the room and reinforcing customer focus.

“It reminds us that the customer comes first,” he said. “No matter what job we have, we always have an end customer paying us to do the job.”

For Tyler Legacy senior Sergio Contreras, Habitat for Humanity’s work hit close to home.

“The program gives back to the community and just likes to help people out,” he said. “They’re helping people who need it, like single mothers, families who can’t afford homes, or repairs in their homes… I came from a family like that so it stuck out to me the most.”

The nonprofit talked to students about the marketing that goes into Habitat for Humanity, something that resonated with many of the students who one day will pursue a career in a similar field.

“We learned how to go in the houses, renovate it, like remodel it,” said John King, senior at Tyler Legacy. “(It’s inspiring because) as a nonprofit, you’re really putting your heart into it to help people.”

“I’m looking to go into business, so seeing a person that does a lot of marketing, it kind of gives me different views on the business world, maybe the marketing world,” said Jabralyn Williams, a senior at Tyler High School. “That’s something that I could take into account for my experiences when I get older. Habitat for Humanity is a great organization.”

By connecting students with industry professionals and real-world experiences, Tyler ISD’s Pathways to Professions event continues to inspire and equip the next generation with the tools they need to succeed in their chosen careers.

“(Pathways to Professions) is definitely a blast,” said Melissa Herb, store manager for AutoZone in Mineola. “I love how much we get the kids interacting… I wish we had something like this when I was in school. It gives you so much initiative to go for something.”