Lydia Clark loves watching home fix-up shows on the Home and Garden TV (HGTV). She dreams of someday restoring old homes. This interest led her to pursue the Construction pathway at The Career Academy (TCA) while she was in high school. While she took her high school graduation requirements at Pius X High School in the morning, she spent her afternoons at TCA on Southeast Community College’s campus at 88th & O, gaining knowledge and college credits.
She is continuing at SCC, pursuing her 2nd degree in Electrical. She completed her Associate Applied Science degree in Construction and wants to also be able to understand electrical processes when it comes home construction and renovation. Her goal now is to start pursuing her dream of renovating homes once she completes her 2nd degree.
The Career Academy programs help ensure access to training and support for skilled in-demand jobs, the goal of Prosper Lincoln’s Employment Skills focus area.
The Career Academy is a joint venture between Lincoln Public Schools and Southeast Community College. The goal of TCA is to provide academic and real-world experiences to high school juniors and seniors through high school and dual credit courses. Students have 16 different career pathways.
Grant Schmidt, a recent graduate of Southwest Highschool is currently working two internships in Information Technology (IT), one at Cornhusker Bank and one at Lincoln Electric System. He hopes to continue working part-time as he takes more classes at Southeast Community College in the fall.
Spots are limited for the upcoming school year but still available for incoming Juniors and Seniors in some pathways including Welding, Construction, Early Childhood, Information Technology (networking/programming), Ag/Bioscience, Business and Culinary.
According to Dr. Dan Hohensee, Director of The Career Academy, many TCA graduates continue their education while others begin working full time right away. Either way, students are likely to find internships and summer employment in their preferred career path.
Students attend TCA for two hours a day during the regular school year while taking their remaining courses back at their home high school. Transportation in the LPS district is provided, books are free, and tuition is free through scholarships or paid at a 50% discount to the regular SCC credit hour charge.
Expert instructors at TCA stretch the students while over 150 professionals in business and industry provide real world connections. These 150+ professionals serve on pathway support teams that advise, mentor, judge, provide field trips, and often offer internships for students at TCA.
The Career Academy encourages current sophomores to apply. Additional pathways currently full but will take application next year include: engineering, K-12 education, health sciences, precision machining and criminal justice.
The academic and real world experiences provided through the instructors and pathway support members can transform the life of a student.