{"id":744,"date":"2017-04-21T10:13:35","date_gmt":"2017-04-21T14:13:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nacacadmitted.wpengine.com\/wordpress\/?p=744"},"modified":"2017-06-21T10:16:39","modified_gmt":"2017-06-21T14:16:39","slug":"imagine-grant-helps-california-students-explore-college-majors-and-careers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/2017\/04\/21\/imagine-grant-helps-california-students-explore-college-majors-and-careers\/","title":{"rendered":"Imagine Grant Helps California Students Explore College Majors and Careers"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"iStock\"
iStock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It\u2019s a scenario counselors know well: A student proudly announces they\u2019re applying to college and plans to study physics.<\/p>\n

So far so good. But then comes the kicker. What does the student hope to do with their degree? Cure cancer.<\/p>\n

But as many counselors know, a degree in biology or in the\u00a0health sciences offers a more direct route to cancer research, said\u00a0Nicole Murphy, director of college access and financial aid strategies with PUC Schools<\/a>, a California nonprofit charter school organization serving students in Northeast Los Angeles and the Northeast San Fernando Valley.<\/p>\n

So this spring, Murphy launched a new initiative aimed at helping teens make connections between their interests and the college search process. Thirty industry experts and college department heads shared their insights with students during PUC\u2019s inaugural College Majors & Careers Event in March.<\/p>\n

The event, which served 520 high school juniors, was supported by a $1,000 grant from NACAC’s Imagine Fund.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cStudents in 11th<\/sup> grade don\u2019t have to have their whole career mapped out, and they probably shouldn\u2019t,\u201d Murphy said. \u201cBut if they start to identify what they want to be, it\u2019s much easier to figure out what college will get them there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Data show that college students who have declared a major are more likely to stay in school and ultimately graduate with a degree. And students who thoroughly vet potential colleges during the search process are better positioned to select a right-fit institution, reducing the likelihood that they\u2019ll need to transfer colleges to find classes and clubs that support their interests.<\/p>\n

\"Photo
Photo courtesy of PUC Schools<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Through last month\u2019s event, PUC students got a glimpse into a variety of college majors and careers, ranging from animation to architecture. Speakers also talked about their own professional paths and the steps they took building their careers.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of students think: \u2018I\u2019ll graduate from college and I\u2019ll get a job,\u2019\u201d Murphy said. \u201cOur speakers talked about all the other steps that go into really finding your place in the world. They talked about internships and job experience and how college majors connect to careers.\u201d<\/p>\n

The half-day event was so successful that PUC Schools has decided to offer it annually to both sophomores and juniors.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen students find their passion and find their purpose, they\u2019re able to make connections to not only what they\u2019re learning in high school, but what they want to study in college,\u201d Murphy said.<\/p>\n

Donate Now<\/a>: Imagine Fund grants offer financial support to individuals or NACAC affiliates. Funds are used to support professional development, as well as innovative programs serving students and\/or the profession.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Admitted writer\/editor Mary Stegmeir welcomes additional comments and story ideas at\u00a0<\/em>mstegmeir@nacacnet.org<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s a scenario counselors know well: A student proudly announces they\u2019re applying to college and plans to study physics. So far so good. But then comes the kicker. What does the student hope to do with their degree? Cure cancer. But as many counselors know, a degree in biology or in the\u00a0health sciences offers a … Continue reading Imagine Grant Helps California Students Explore College Majors and Careers<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[26,10,23,6],"tags":[308,307],"class_list":["post-744","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-career-exploration","category-college-admission","category-college-readiness","category-nacac-news","tag-imagine-fund","tag-imagine-grant"],"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"Mary Stegmeir","author_link":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/author\/mstegmeir\/"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/peWmJq-c0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/744","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=744"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/744\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=744"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=744"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=744"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}