Career exploration for students: Showcasing Schneider at 'Find Your Inspiration' event

Editor’s note: It’s never too early for students to explore career opportunities, and Schneider is proud to participate in events that help showcase our wide range of fulfilling driver, office, diesel technician and warehouse careers. Enjoy this first-hand account of a Schneider associate detailing the impact one of these events had.

For the past three years, I have been asked to participate in KI Center’s excellent career exploration for students event, Find Your Inspiration. This event is geared towards helping thousands of eighth-grade students in the Greater Green Bay, Wis., area get familiarized with local businesses and career opportunities to help align with their high school course selections and prepare for their future.

We had a fun game for the kids to play where they each have a role within the company; driver, marketing, finance and customer service. The “office associates” race the other teams to match their cards the quickest to advance their driver to the next space. The winning team got VIP access to the front of the line to explore in the truck. It was a hit! The horn was their favorite part … but can’t deny that we also tested it out first thing in the morning. It was empowering! That’s me with the truck in the photo.

Getting to know your community

All jokes aside, every year we have hundreds of kids come to Schneider’s booth asking, “My mom/dad works at Schneider, do you know her/him?” And every year I have had the opportunity to say “Yes, I do!” Meeting co-worker’s children is a pretty neat experience in itself, as well as gaining a greater appreciation for how big our company is and how much it contributes to the community. The kids are so excited to see the booth for Schneider, where their parents work. It’s an awesome feeling and their faces light up when we get to talking about them.

Making career exploration fun

Each of these kids are so full of energy. In part because they have a day off of school, and also because they get to walk around with their friends, play games, talk to relatable adults who are also enjoying their “day off,” and to network and learn more about what careers are out there.

There are numerous rooms for the kids to rotate through. When time’s up, “I like to Move it, Move it” from the Madagascar movie plays. The kids get all riled up, break out in dance and run to the next room. It’s a really exciting time. For us, it’s a nice 30-second break to watch the young souls’ dance, make a move of our own and wait for the next wave to flood in.

The Find Your Inspiration Event is a very fun and interactive day, and with every new wave comes more personality. You never know what to expect when an eighth grader full of questions walks straight up to you, but boy do they keep things interesting. Part of me wonders, “what the heck is going on in their head all day,” while another part of me wonders, “where are these kiddos going to choose to make their impact on the world?” At that age, the sky truly is the limit.