💡What if you could start your career journey while still in high school – exploring workflows, networking with business leaders, and building direct experiences through internships?
That’s the premise of the Buncombe County Center for Career Innovation (BCCI), and last week, students in BCCI’s first class got to share their stories and successes during a community showcase at the A-B Tech Conference Center. The showcase featured vision boards where rising 10th graders from across the county made collages about how they would like to design their lives. Current BCCI students had presentation boards arrayed across the room and held a panel discussion explaining their own journeys. Guests also heard insights from business partners in fields ranging from advanced manufacturing to health care to sustainable energy.
“We’re doing this to show how great BCCI is,” said Jordyn White, a student on the Professional Services pathway at BCCI who helped promote the event. “If you’re not sure what you want to do, this might be the place for you. All the experiences we’ve had have really helped us figure that out. I used to be really shy, but when I found out about BCCI, I really wanted to get the word out to students like me who want to have a career right after high school but don’t know where to start.”
BCCI’s career pathways include Skilled Technologies (advanced manufacturing, sustainable energy, construction), Professional Services (education, health care, hospitality and tourism), and Information Technology (networking, cybersecurity, software development). BCCI Principal Anna Austin said the showcase provided a venue for students to describe how they’ve explored careers in these pathways and pursued real-world experiences with local businesses.
“They identify their pathway and look at the different ways to get where they want to be, whether that’s joining the workforce right after graduating high school, earning credentials along with their high school diploma, or picking up college credits on their way to a four-year school,” she said. “This event is their way of showing the community what the first year of BCCI has been like and to help the community celebrate how far they’ve come from August to April.”
BCCI is accepting applications from rising ninth and 10th graders. Find out more.