Career & College Centers back in full swing for fall

With the arrival of fall semester, our Career & College Center (CCC) teams in 11 Minneapolis Public Schools are busy welcoming new students to our CCCs and helping returning students get back on track with their career and college planning after summer break.

At The FAIR School Downtown - a MPS fine arts high school rooted in equity, innovation and creativity - our CCC coordinator Lisa Dornacker is meeting one-on-one with each senior to make sure they're making steady progress on college applications and career planning so they're on track for great opportunities after graduation.

Lisa is also helping students complete their career readiness portfolio through MPS Career & Technical Education to prepare for spring school-day internships - a unique career exploration opportunity open to FAIR students. And she's working with her FAIR colleagues to bring in a wide variety of arts college representatives to connect with students about their programs and review their art portfolios.

“I love helping students realize there’s so much more out there than they think they know, and they don’t have to put themselves in a box to do what they want to do,” says Lisa. “I help them identify careers that fit their interests and the best connections and schools to get them there. I’ve been doing this long enough to see the long-term return on investment - so even on days when I feel like I’m not moving the dial, former students will reach out to share the exciting things they're doing, or tell me they would never be in college without our help."

Planning is also underway for October's College Knowledge Month at FAIR, when students will be participating in college fairs, financial aid presentations, speed networking events and employer worksite tours.

Learn more about our Career & College Center at FAIR and 10 other MPS high schools.