Workplace tour gives educators new tools to prepare students for the future

OSKALOOSA — The question of the day at the Educators in the Workplace on Tuesday was not simply how to help students choose a career. It was how to help them see opportunity, practice the skills employers need, and understand that meaningful work can begin in the communities where they already live.

That theme guided the educators' session hosted by the Mahaska Chamber and Development Group and Indian Hills Community College. The session brought educators to Musco Lighting for a tour of the We Make It Happen Center, a panel on entrepreneurial skills, a look at Oskaloosa High School’s Hub, and conversations with local business leaders about how students build confidence, communication, and problem-solving skills before they enter the workforce.

For Kristen McMains, talent outreach specialist at Musco Lighting, the value of the day was in putting educators and employers in the same room. Schools and businesses often work toward similar goals, she said, but they do not always have a chance to see each other’s challenges up close.

“You can’t be what you can’t see,” McMains said. “I think it’s important to share the information and knowledge, but help connect the dots on common challenges and successes.”

The session focused on entrepreneurial thinking, but not in the narrow sense of starting a business. McMains said the broader goal was to help educators identify the knowledge, skills, and abilities students will need in a changing workforce.

“This generation is the generation of jobs that don’t exist yet, but the skills are going to stay very relevant and very much the same,” she said.

Those skills came through clearly during the Musco panel. Courtney Bottorff, who works in communications, said students need to learn to plan, set goals, meet deadlines, and adjust when plans do not work. In the workplace, she said, good communication begins before a project is launched.

“If you’re heading into a large project, you work on a plan to identify the objectives, the goals that you’re trying to reach, the timelines, due dates that you want to hit,” Bottorff said.

But planning does not prevent every mistake. Bottorff said students also need to understand that failure is part of growth.

Nick Davis, Musco’s sales associate manager, said confidence often comes from preparation. In his work with young professionals, he said he tries to help them understand what creates fear and how discipline can help them move through it.

“The more disciplined they [students"> get in their approach, the more confident they are,” Davis said. “They’re not afraid to go out and try.”

Davis said students also need practice in hearing "no," asking "why," and looking for the next opportunity. That lesson, he said, applies beyond sales. It teaches students not to walk away from a challenge without understanding it.

Kaitlyn Harger, a Musco panelist, said students can start building those habits by looking closely at their own schools and communities. They can ask what is missing, what could be improved and who might help them understand the issue better.

“Try something, go out there, use your people, reach out to community members, see what you can do, and try it,” Harger said. “Maybe it doesn’t work the first time, but you can learn from that opportunity.”

Educators also heard from Oskaloosa Schools' new engaged and transferable learning center, The Hub, where students work on real projects with local businesses and community partners. The Hub provides juniors and seniors with an off-campus setting where they are expected to operate with greater independence and professionalism.

Carrie Bihn, Hub facilitator, said that setting changes the teacher's role. Students are not simply waiting for instruction. They are identifying questions, making connections, and learning from people in the field.

“I want the kids to know that I’m not the expert,” Bihn said. “I just have connections, and I can connect you to the person who has that answer.”

At the Hub, students take on projects from businesses while also developing projects based on their own interests or needs they see in the community. Their work connects to Oskaloosa’s Portrait of a Learner competencies: collaboration, coachability, communication, curiosity, critical thinking, and citizenship.

Oskaloosa High School Principal Jeff Kirby said the Hub is part of a larger effort to give students work-based learning experiences in a school-supported environment. That includes Spirit Cafe, construction trades, student broadcasting and future plans for a student-run store.

Kirby said those programs help students build relationships with employers and practice professional skills before the consequences become more serious.

“You can fail safely,” Kirby said. “We’re here to help you. We’re here to guide you, as long as you’re showing interest in continuing to grow and improve.”

Superintendent Mike Fisher said the work is not limited to high school. Oskaloosa’s approach is built around exposing students to careers early, helping them explore possibilities in middle school, and giving them direct experiences in high school.

“Contextualized learning, why are you learning where you’re learning?” Fisher said. “You’re not learning math in isolation.”

For Nathan Miller, career services coordinator at Indian Hills Community College, that connection between school and work is the reason Educators in the Workplace has continued for more than a decade. He said educators and community members may recognize a local employer’s name without fully understanding the careers and pathways available there.

“We know who they are, but we don’t know necessarily what it is they do and what career opportunities exist right in our own back door,” Miller said.

Miller said the day also reinforced the need to help students see multiple pathways after high school. Some students will pursue a two-year or four-year degree. Others may enter apprenticeships, skilled trades or the workforce directly.

“Not everyone’s the same,” Miller said. “Not everyone needs to go to a two-year or four-year school.”

For Taylor Robinson, an 8th and 9th grade English teacher at Ottumwa Schools, the session offered ideas she could take directly back to her classroom. Robinson said she plans to revise a career exploration unit so students look beyond salary and education requirements.

“This year I’m really going to have them dig way deeper into not just how much they make, but the employability skills they’re going to be looking for,” Robinson said.

She also saw ways to connect English and math through a potential business proposal project, in which students would develop a written plan and build a budget. That kind of work, she said, helps students understand deadlines, communication, and preparation in a more practical way.

The session closed with a personal example of entrepreneurial thinking from Giuditta and Giuseppe, both from Italy, who operate G&G Pronto, an authentic Italian restaurant inside Penn Central Mall, and Max Leonida, also from Italy and now a professor at William Penn University.

Giuditta Abbatista and Giuseppe Marco left established careers in Italy to build a new life and business in Oskaloosa. Leonida, who helped share their story, said that kind of move takes persistence and courage.

“To be an immigrant anywhere in the world, anywhere, it’s hard,” Leonida said.

Their story connected directly to the day’s message. Entrepreneurship is not only about opening a business. It is about taking a risk, staying true to your work, and inviting others to experience something new. For educators, it was a final reminder that students need the skills to adapt, communicate, and keep going when the path is unfamiliar.