Engage, educate and empower is the goal of the Pathways 2
Possibilities (P2P) Career Expo. P2P
South Carolina is an interactive, hands-on career expo designed to help 8th
graders and at-risk youth, ages 16-24, link their passions to a paycheck. Each
student spends two hours exploring the pathways, along with the educators and
chaperones where professionals from 19 career pathways engage the students with
hands-on activities in their various fields, while also sharing what life is
like in their jobs and the training and education that’s required.
(pathways-2-possibilities-career-expo)
This year, the Myrtle Beach Convention Center is going to
host 7,000 8th graders from seven counties around the Myrtle Beach
area: Georgetown, Horry, Williamsburg,
Florence, Dillon, Marlboro and Marion. The
19 Career Pathways are designed to be relevant in the 21st century such
as:
Aerospace
Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources
Architecture & Construction
Arts, A/V Technology & Communication
Business Management & Administration
Education & Training
Energy
Engineering & Polymer Science
Finance
Government & Public Relations
Health Science
Hospitality & Tourism
Human Services
Information Technology
Law, Public Safety, Corrections & Security
Manufacturing
Marine Science
Marketing
Transportation, Distribution & Logistics
Initially,
P2P began in Biloxi, Mississippi in November 2013. Members of the Jackson County Chamber of
Commerce Education Issue Manager Group heard about an exciting career expo for
8th graders in Mobile, Alabama called the Worlds of Opportunity and
decided to research it. The Southwest
Alabama Workforce Development Council (SAWDC), hosts of the event, was glad to
meet with the visitors from Mississippi in 2011.
After
brainstorming with the SAWDC, the group decided to create their own version of
the career expo by including employers and educators from the entire
Mississippi Gulf Coast. Diann Payne,
Committee member and Jackson County Civic Action Committee Executive Director,
stepped up to organize the project.
Using funds from America’s Promise Alliance, Diann
contracted Paige Roberts and Karen Sock to coordinate the two-day career expo,
and the P2P debuted on November 13-14, 2013.
It covered “133,000
square foot convention floor with 19 Pathways offering activities for 6,000 8th
graders, followed by few dozen at-risk youth, ages 16-24. P2P has shown
how powerful an effort can be when the public, private and nonprofit sectors
join forces in the name of education, workforce development and economic
development.” (pathways2possibilities)
Karen and Paige believed the success of P2P on the Gulf
Coast could be recreated in other communities.
First in Tupelo for students in seven Northeast Mississippi counties at
the Bancorp South Arena in Tupelo on October 6-7, 2015 for 3,300 students. Next, they hosted the P2P Delta on April 6-7,
2016 for 2,200 8th Graders from 12 Northwest Mississippi counties.
The
P2P continued to grow its outreach and spread as all good ideas in education do. This year, there will be a Pathways 2
Possibilities Career Expo at Myrtle Beach Convention Center on February 20
& 21, 2019 hosting students from seven nearby counties. It will likely be one of the best career day
ideas for middle school and at-risk students, ages 16-24.