The fall 2025 internship application portal is NOW OPEN through April 11! This opportunity to gain experience, make connections, and get ahead of the curve is open to current 10th and 11th grade students. Students in the internship program earn dual credit through Kirkwood Community College and their local high school. Learn more.

Community Volunteers Needed for Financial Literacy Fair!

Workplace Learning Connection’s Financial Literacy Fair helps eighth grade students learn about the basics of budgeting and financial well-being. WLC collaborates with area middle schools to host this hands-on learning experience with the support of hundreds of community volunteers. Students choose a career at the fair and use the starting salary to practice budgeting their life expenses (housing, transportation, insurance, etc.).

To support this event, we are looking for community volunteers! Last year over 500 volunteers donated over 1,400 hours of their time to help us put on this impactful event. Come engage with middle school students and help them learn this valuable budgeting skill. Financial expertise is not required. Everything you need to volunteer will be provided.

Last year, one teacher commented, “I cannot say enough nice things about the people who help with this event. FLF is always a good, eye-opening experience for our students, and they enjoy the interactions with the volunteers. I just want to say thank you for taking the time to make a difference for our students.”

WLC will host over 4,800 students from Benton, Cedar, Iowa, Jones, Johnson, Linn, and Washington counties. The fairs will be held on the following dates:

• April 15 – Iowa County
• April 16 – Washington County
• April 21, 23, 24, 25, and 30 – Johnson County
• May 5 – 9, 12, 14, and 16 – Linn County

We wouldn’t be able to provide this opportunity without support from our community! Click here to sign up to volunteer, or contact Cheryl Valenta with questions at cheryl.valenta@kirkwood.edu.

From a Job Shadow to a Career

At one of our recent STEM events, we discovered that one of our volunteers was a former WLC student. Bethany Foster, who graduated from Marion High School in 2020, attended our Radiology/Imaging Day put on by University of Iowa Health Care, as well as a teacher job shadow.

“My job shadow experiences helped me get a sneak peek into the two career paths I was interested in,” says Bethany. “The UIHC Radiology Day showed all of the different careers involved within the Radiation Sciences program, which helped me understand the differences between modalities and identify the ones I could be interested in pursuing. The high school teacher job shadow showed me the perspective from the other side of the classroom. Both gave me great insight on very different careers and ultimately helped me choose the path I wanted to go.” Bethany is now a cardiovascular sonographer with Mercy Medical Center in Cedar Rapids.

A little over a year after attending Radiology Day, Bethany was accepted into Iowa’s Diagnostic Cardiac Medical Sonography program. “I never would have even known about this career without my job shadow,” she says. “My job shadow also gave me an extra boost on my application because one thing the professors for my program were looking for was job shadow experience. I was one of the only people who had any, considering we were in the middle of the pandemic.”

Bethany attended Kirkwood for her freshman year to finish up her General Education credits. She only needed one year at Kirkwood thanks to her College Credit in High School coursework. “I graduated high school with almost two semesters’ worth of college credit under my belt. Because of this, I only had to attend Kirkwood for one year instead of two, saving me time and money before I went on to Iowa. Taking college credit courses while in high school for free, and getting my gen ed coursework out of the way at Kirkwood, were the smartest decisions of my entire life!”

When asked how she feels about her full-circle moment as a WLC volunteer, Bethany says, “It’s super rewarding! It’s crazy to think that I was in those students’ shoes not all that long ago! Junior and senior year of high school can be a tricky and confusing time for many people, so I’m hoping I was able to help even just one person find something interesting they would like to learn more about.

“I am so thankful for these opportunities I have had through Kirkwood over the last couple of years,” Bethany continues. “I had no idea when I first attended the Imaging Day job shadow that I would end up where I am now. If it weren’t for the job shadow experience, I may not be where I am today; I am so grateful it all worked out with WLC’s help and assistance. Thank you!”

WLC Cedar County High School Career Fair Continues to Make an Impact

Earlier this month we held our annual Cedar County High School Career & Job Fair in Tipton. North Cedar, Tipton, and West Branch high schools brought 320 10th through 12th grade students to learn about local career opportunities in healthcare, agriculture, manufacturing, business, the trades, public safety, and many other in-demand career fields. Over 20 businesses participated in the fair, allowing them to make connections with talented teenagers from their local communities and hand out applications for part-time or post-graduation opportunities.

Each year, the number of businesses interested in being involved in the fair continues to grow. “Career fairs are helpful for students coming in not knowing what they are looking for in terms of a career,” says Jon Walsh with Tipton Electric Department. “There are trade school opportunities out there that are valuable career paths, that a lot of students are not aware of. Career fairs help us showcase those opportunities. Skilled trades are worth looking into. You can work and get paid to go to school.”

The career fair is the largest Cedar County event out of several events organized by WLC each year. The goal is to help students with postsecondary planning and career exploration by showing them all the opportunities that are available right in their own backyards.

“I learned a lot and enjoyed how all the businesses were passionate about sharing what they do,” says Tipton High School student Alivia Tucker. “A fair like this shows us career options we might not have known about and helps us see what types of jobs are out there.”

Engaging students early plays a pivotal role in economic vitality, especially in more rural areas like Cedar County.

“The Cedar County Career Fair is a great opportunity for local employers to get in front of high school students and for students to see the variety of employers throughout our area,” says WLC Director Kristine Bullock. “Each year, we are impressed by the variety of career options and appreciate our business partners sharing the training and skills needed to enter these career pathways.”