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When students can connect what they’re learning in school to real-world careers, they gain both motivation and direction for their futures. That’s why our friends at FuturesNW co-coordinated three editions of Learning with Leaders, Career Explore events exposing students across Whatcom and Skagit Counties to future career possibilities.
During each event, students came face-to-face with faculty, industry experts, and community resources to help them explore their interests and shape their plans for the future in fields from cybersecurity and early childhood education to medical assisting and nursing. The events took place at and in partnership with Skagit Valley College (SVC), Bellingham Technical College (BTC), and Whatcom Community College (WCC). Across all three Learning with Leaders events, FuturesNW, SVC, BTC, and WCC created spaces where students could see themselves in meaningful careers and take practical steps toward making those futures a reality.
⚠️ Worth noting:
The “Hope Scores” of students who participated in the BTC event increased by an average of 4.2 points. Hope scores are a measure of students’ future confidence and direction.
Megan Wingo, Executive Director of Operations at FuturesNW, explained why this matters: “A key component of our program evaluation is the Science of Hope framework. Nearly 2,000 published studies about hope indicate that hope is “the most predictive indicator of well-being in a person’s life.”
“Research has shown that higher Hope Scores correlate with increased academic persistence, enrollment, and completion rates,” she added.
“By analyzing pre- and post-event surveys that include the Hope Scale, we can determine whether students have developed a clearer sense of career pathways, increased motivation, and a stronger belief in their ability to succeed. Even a one-point Hope Score increase is statistically significant,” she explained.
🙌 A Win for Everyone:
When students leave career-connected events like Learning with Leaders with new skills, new connections, and a stronger sense of what’s possible, we all win! Here’s to more career-connected learning opportunities for Washington students!
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