Aliyah Hurt – LRHS News
(LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL) – LRHS supports all students looking for career research, so it makes sense that they support the student-made website “Career Connections.”
The Career Connections website states “As a high school student in Manatee County, you have the ability to connect with professionals in your career field(s) of interest through Career Connections. You can contact our mentors via email, phone, or in person. Shadow opportunities are available for certain career fields.”
This website, that is essentially secular to Manatee County, was created by a group of Manatee County Community Problem Solvers (CmPS), two of whom attend LRHS, sophomores Rachel Towe and Andrew Foege.
Towe said she got the inspiration for the site from college and career counselors who “needed an extra resource to help students understand their options.”
To do this Towe and her team promoted the website throughout schools like Lakewood Ranch and Southeast.
Towe said their goal is “to get all of manatee county students registered for our site and to expand our mentor base further.
“This year we are focusing on our schools Lakewood, Braden River and Southeast and developing connections with other schools. We are trying to spread the word to our classes, different clubs, and through the administrators.”
Towe, Foege and their other team members won first place at state competition with their website and are advancing to nationals.
LRHS College and Career Counselor Michelle Todoroff said the site is a great resource.
“The site matches students with Career Professionals in our community who are willing to offer a Career Shadow Experience and or talk with students who may be interested in that career path.
“The benefits of having Career Connections are immeasurable. Students will get the opportunity to sample a career to see if it is the right fit. In addition, students will establish a contact person to give them first hand advice,” said Todoroff. “I know that the Career Connections website was very useful for the students who needed to find a contact for the Career Shadow Project.”
Todoroff fully recommends Career Connections to all LRHS students and said “The Career Connection Website is easy to use. Students just simply login to manateecareerconnections.com, create a profile and then will have access to the list of professionals.”