Grantee Spotlight: Q&A with Project Leadership
Tammy Pearson, President & CEO of Project Leadership
For over a decade, BBF has been supporting the work of Project Leadership, a nonprofit organization serving East Central Indiana’s students, families, and schools. Project Leadership’s programs are laser-focused on preparing students for education and career journeys after high school. It’s no secret that the choices—and challenges—that high school students face can feel daunting. From navigating changing high school graduation requirements to applying for trade school or college, it’s easy for students to get lost in complex systems and processes. And that’s where Project Leadership comes in. Come along with us as we sit down with Tammy Pearson, President & CEO of Project Leadership, to learn more.
“Without a plan, there’s really no way that what you want to happen is going to happen.”
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For today’s students and the families who love them, the journey from education to career is different than it was a decade ago. The messaging centered toward students about their futures was a largely harmonized chorus of needed next steps for a good career, one that often involved a four-year education. Today, that messaging is more complex and, at times, as loud as the 100-decibel buzz of an army of Indiana cicadas. It’s loud out there. Students hear a flood of staccato messaging about future options and career readiness. Among them: apprenticeships, straight to workforce, trade schools, certifications, career assessments, work-based learning, industry clusters, college degrees, agilities, durable skills and pathways.
“Without a plan, there’s really no way what you want to happen is going to happen,” says one local student who wants to be a pediatric nurse. Another student shares: “Kids have a lot of potential, but they don’t have someone there to show them what to do.” For these reasons, navigation and career coaching have become increasingly important for students who find themselves at the epicenter of an exciting and unsettling environment that is working to accommodate changing definitions of ‘an education,’ marketplace demands and students’ personal aspirations. As one of our students put it in defining a critical skill she will need moving forward, ‘I’m working on being comfortable with being uncomfortable.’
When asked, students are refreshingly open and generous in describing the walls that stand between them and thriving careers. Finances, or a lack of them, to fund trainings and educations continue to top the list. Less obvious barriers include fear of not living up to expectations, other people’s doubts of their abilities and, as one student described so humbly, ‘Myself.’
With these insights from students, it may not be surprising to learn what students said they would prioritize packing in a ‘toolbox’ for succeeding: Discipline. Family and friend support. Confidence. Perseverance. And my personal favorite: Embracing failure.
For parents, who often have the greatest influence on their children’s career trajectories, it can be hard to keep up with the changing educational and career landscape. “How do we get our children to see themselves in these careers?” asks one parent. “How do we find people to help them?” Many of our parents want to step up to guide and support their children but lack the knowledge and resources to do so. Shares one mother: “I struggle as a parent with holding my children’s hands versus telling them they have to step up and be leaders themselves. They’re still kids. They don’t think or operate like adults. They struggle with how to take initiative.”
Contrary to generational stereotypes, one area in which students do not struggle: work ethic. Says one local high school counselor who guides hundreds of students in her school system. “Kids are not lazy. They come in my office and ask me whether I know of any places that are hiring.” Another counselor observes about her student case load: “I have so many conversations with students about adjusting their school schedules because they tell me, ‘I have to go work and help my family.’”
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The number of decisions researchers claim we make every day is 35,000. If their research is correct, that’s about 2,000 decisions every waking hour. It’s overwhelming to think about, let alone make them. That is through the lens of being an adult. Imagine being 16 years old.
At Project Leadership, we stopped imagining and began serving more than 16 years ago. Our organization, through the vision and support of Ball Brothers Foundation, launched a unique career and college readiness model in Delaware County that uses time and space in the school day for thousands of first generation and income-limited students to explore educations beyond high school.
Project Leadership’s vision: Communities without poverty. Project Leadership’s mission: To provide equitable access to education and career beyond high school. Project Leadership serves students, families and schools in East Central Indiana with a special emphasis in Delaware County. Programs prepare students for educations and careers after high school through Project Leadership’s:
21st Century Scholars services.
Career Curriculum.
Aeros online platform that aligns students’ career aptitudes with local work experiences.
Financial aid FAFSA+ model.
Specialized school labs for students and families that assist in financial aid, applying to colleges, seeking scholarships and fulfilling Indiana’s Scholar Success Program.
Partnerships have been critical to producing positive outcomes for East Central Indiana youths that include thousands of Delaware County students being enrolled in the state of Indiana’s 21st Century Scholars program, which provides tuition aid to Hoosier higher education institutions. Millions of dollars in financial aid have been identified for local high school seniors through Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) school labs. Hundreds of high school students have received one-on-one career coaching and applied to colleges and for scholarships. Project Leadership’s career coaches are engaging students in work experiences through local career field trips. Project Leadership is using its new digital Aeros platform to organize students’ career interests and establish student dashboards as preparation for matching students with local employers for job experiences.
Project Leadership is a highly personalized model that uses a comprehensive system to facilitate students’ career paths through intentional strategies and activities. Our history of success is because of our partners. School partners. Community partners. Regional partners. State partners. Funding partners. And, most vital, student and family partners.
“How do we get our children to see themselves in these careers?
How do we find people to help them?”
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The closing chapter of a high school senior’s K-12 education is a flurry of milestones in a year unlike any other they have experienced. Decisions can feel overwhelming and frightening. And there are many. Will they transition directly from high school into their career or make a stop in between for training, a certification or degree? What colleges best fit their intended career paths and when do they need to apply? How will education beyond high school be possible financially? What are the costs? Might scholarships help? Hundreds of Delaware County high school graduates each year are 21st Century Scholars. Have 21st Century Scholar requirements been met? Have Scholar Success Program activities been completed?
April of a students’ senior year is an exclamation point and a time when many of the decisions and milestones have been checked off the list. By the time April rolls in, students are ensuring they have completed the FAFSA application, which helps students determine what federal and state financial aid may be available to them to help pay for college. (The deadline is an easy one to remember as it aligns with Tax Day: April 15th.)
Project Leadership’s career coaches meet with students throughout the year to support them through those milestones. For seniors, that support begins in the fall as it did for one Muncie student last August who planned to go to college and pursue one of two careers – Dermatology or Law. In October, he job shadowed in a local Dermatology office. In November he applied to the college that he would later be accepted to -- Indiana University Bloomington. In December, he focused on applying to scholarships. In February, he interned in a Law office. And finally, in April, he finished the financial aid process by filing a FAFSA. As a result, this student now has explored his two top career interests, selected an institution to facilitate his education and has a plan for how to pay for it.
Looking back at what he has learned and what he wants younger students to know, he offers this advice: “Don’t be scared. Network. Work hard. Connect with people in your career field. Take all the little opportunities. Stay true to yourself.”
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One of Project Leadership’s oldest and deepest partnerships is with Muncie Community Schools. At the center of our long partnership is our commitment to placing students’ best interests at the center of our decisions and collective initiatives. Over the past year, two Project Leadership career coaches have been embedded in Muncie Central High school on a daily basis to engage Muncie high school students in 1-on-1 career coaching services and experiences. Coaches strive to immerse students in experiences that build self-awareness and an understanding of how students’ individual skills connect to future careers.
Recently, Project Leadership’s Career Coaches partnered with Muncie Central High School, Ivy Tech Community College and Greater Muncie Chamber of Commerce to host the Professional Development Luncheon for Muncie students. A key goal: to tap into the confidence students need to be successful after high school. The luncheon offered a mix of resources designed to help students prepare for a job interviews, identify their skills and communicate with potential employers. Students filed off the school bus and into Ivy Tech's Community Room to find materials to turn to when they open a door to a new career. Students learned how to write an elevator pitch to relay relevant skills to employers, craft a compelling resume and format an email. To get a better feel for the workforce that awaits them after high school or college, students had the opportunity to engage with local employers in round table discussions and in one-on-one mock interviews. The walk to the employer interview table felt longer for some students than others but with a gentle nudge and an understanding that mastering a new skill takes time, students put their knowledge and courage into action.
Watching them inspires us to do the same.