Some Greene County High School students got to experience different careers from the comfort of the classroom.

Iowa’s Jobs for America’s Graduates (iJAG) Instructor Shawn Bennett partnered with Prairie Lakes Area Education Agency for a Career Labs Virtual Reality program. AEA Technology/Innovative Future Ready Consultant Torre Proctor says there are 25 virtual reality fields for students to choose from and it is a way for students to experience different careers to help them decide on a future path. 

Proctor says virtual reality is a great way to simulate the job site and he talks about one aspect he really likes with the program.

“They’ll hold your hand and train you on how to do a particular task. Then they’ll have you repeat the task, go ahead and make another one, but they won’t hold your hand on it. You have to possibly struggle through the process again. ‘I’m accountable for what I just learned, I have to do it again.’”

Senior Rese-Ray Jennings did over five virtual reality jobs and he says this program exposed him to different careers that he could do following high school.

“To me, as soon as I get out of high school anyways, I want to work like a lot. Like, I want to work like 12-16 hour days is what my goal is. I’m willing to do any job (and) I’m a very hands on person. It helps me understand more and it’s teaching me new things that I probably would never know if I never tried to go into those fields.”

iJAG Program Manager Tatum Voss says their main focus with students is with employer engagement, trauma informed care and project-based learning. Voss applauds Bennett’s effort to utilize the virtual reality program as the first high school in the Prairie Lakes AEA region.

“Well I like to brag on Shawn a lot because she is definitely a go-getter. She likes to create lots of opportunities for her students. So she just doesn’t wait for them to come to her, she goes out and actively seeks them. So obviously she is doing something incredible for her students and hopefully we can expand this opportunity to other iJAG programs.”   

Several students took advantage of the experience over a two day period.