Career Pathways Newsletter

Career Pathways Highlights

CNA Experience

WBL Career Pathways is excited to announce that 60 students completed the Certified Nursing Assistant course this year at WBLAHS - South Campus. Students completed all the coursework at South Campus and clinicals at Cerenity Senior Care - WBL. Students who completed the course were eligible to sit for the MN Nursing Assistant Exam.

Thanks to the MN Department of Labor & Industry’s Youth Skills Training Grant, WBLAS was able to support all students in their first attempt to take the exam. If you are a local healthcare employer currently looking to fill a CNA workforce shortage, be sure to let WBL Career Pathways know so we can send our qualified students your way!

Hands-On Opportunities

Students recently had the opportunity to embrace the GenZ Connection Program! Another year is in the books for the Gen Z Connections Program. We were fortunate enough to work with 12 local employers this year. NEW this year was an addition for an Automotive Group, making WBLAS and partners, the first Automotive Youth Skills Training program in the state of Minnesota! This year, we had 8 students matched with Manufacturing companies and 4 students matched with local Automotive companies. The program offers a paid, experiential learning opportunity for students to learn about the relevant industry careers and supports local industry partners through an innovative approach to address workforce shortage issues.

Congratulations to our graduates of the program - Harris Brekke, Angelo Gambino, Esteban Garrido Perez, Dean Isakson, Andre Keller, Kevin Lundgren, Dante Mahmood, KJ Ramsey, Sam Sperry, Gavin Tschida and Jackie Vallejo. Many success stories have emerged from the 2019 group. Dean Isakson recently took a full-time position with Buerkle Car Campus after his internship. Jackie Vallejo has decided to attend St. Paul College for Machining and was recently offered a full-time position as an Ortho Technician at Renstrom Dental Studio. Andre Keller will continue pursuing Welding at St. Paul College and is exploring an apprenticeship opportunity with Schwing America Inc.

Thank you to all of our partners. This program truly would not work without all of your support. Thank you to Buerkle Car Campus, Cummins, Fairway Collision & Autobody, Herold Precision Metals, LasX Industries, Mold Craft, MN Department of Labor & Industry, Music Video Photo, Ramsey County, Renstrom Dental Studio, Schwing America Inc, Superior Machine, Teamvantage, The Speciality Manufacturing Company,  VHEDC, Walser Automotive Group, and White Bear Lake Area Educational Foundation.

Designing Video Games

In June, WBLAS’ Instructional Coach Troy Strand spent four days at Saint Paul College with high school students from the metro area leading them through the game design process. During the school's third Video Game Design Camp, students learned the basics of computational thinking through visual programming protocols including Twine, Sketch Nation, Alice 3 and MIT App Inventor. Participants learned how to create sound effects, music and pixel art in programs like BFXR, Photoshop and Soundtrap, creating artifacts for use in their original games.

Local game development professionals visited the campus, offering deep dives in design, art & animation, programming and audio design & production. Students were able to ask questions and contribute to the creation of games and artifacts for games including pixel art and sound effects. They shared their games with friends and family at the end of the week, allowing others to playtest and provide great feedback for making their games even better!