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Students explore career paths early
ANN MARIE SHAMBAUGH/STAFF PHOTO
Carl Nielson leads a Career Coaching for Students workshop Nov. 25 at the Music Conservatory of Texas.
By Ann Marie Shambaugh, Staff Writer
College is a time of soul-searching and transition for many students, with some changing majors and career goals multiple times before graduation. The process can stretch the college years out and make a wallet thin, but some advisors believe it doesn’t have to be this way.
Career coaches Carl Nielson and Joel Boggess held a daylong Career Coaching for Students workshop last week at the Music Conservatory of Texas in Frisco to help middle and high school students establish career goals as early as possible.
Nielson is a Celina resident and developer of the program. He created the workshop after several adult clients who took his career assessment asked if he could do the same for their teenage children.
“The more self-aware you are, the better your choices,” Nielson said. “We spend a lot of time getting the kids to understand what the assessment reports actually are saying and how that connects into choices are careers.”
Before class, the students take the TTI Success Insights assessment, which examines personal interests, attitudes, and values. They also complete the Career Planning Insights test, which measures how people respond to challenges, influence others, react to the pace of the environment, and follow rules and procedures.
Prosper High School senior Jessica Coffman said that her test results confirmed her desire to study international business or public relations next year when she heads to college.
“(I’ve learned) what drives me, what motivates me, how to pair behavior styles with my values, and where I’ll have the least stress and most amount of satisfaction,” Jessica Coffman said.
Her mother, Cindy Coffman, signed Jessica up for the workshop after friends of the family told her about the course. She attended with her daughter and learned as much through the assessment results as Jessica did.
“I think [the workshop] is a really strong tool to help kids evaluate and know their strengths and weaknesses and understand what motivates them,” Cindy Coffman said. “Once you can concretely see the writing on the wall, you can follow and be more proactive about how to handle different situations.”
Boggess said that parents are encouraged to attend the workshop with their students, because they may learn how to more effectively communicate with them and understand how they are motivated to behave.
Dione Tippawang of Frisco attended with a son in middle school and one in high school. Although they are at different stages of preparing for their careers, she said she believes that the program will lead both to greater job satisfaction.
“I encouraged both of my boys to go, because I think it’s very important to be in a happy career and to be passionate about what you do so you’re not getting up and going, ‘I don’t want to go to work today,’” Dione Tippawang said.
Her son Troy is a student at Staley Middle School, and although he has several years set career goals, he is considering jobs in music or engineering. He said that he learned not to rush the decision at the workshop.
“You can take your time in picking a career,” Troy Tippawang said. “You don’t have to make an immediate decision. You can try different things and learn about them before you jump in.”
During the workshop, students create a personal mission statement, learn about the connection between talent and career choices, explore the power of networking, and create an action plan. Nielson said the program has expanded to groups in Ohio, Connecticut, and Georgia.
Nielson and Boggess will hold Career Coaching for Students workshops across the Metroplex as clients express interest, and the program has been implemented at Richardson ISD and several private schools. Information is available at www.successdiscoveries.com.
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I just wanted to say thank you for the great article. There is so much to the workshop that I feared it would be difficult to "put it on paper" but your article was excellent. Thanks for coming out to see it for yourself. "