Hoosier Students Honored at JAG State Career Development Conference in Indianapolis
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
INDIANAPOLIS (April 2, 2018) —
The Jobs for America’s Graduates (JAG) program, which helps high
school students with barriers to success earn their diploma and learn valuable
employability skills, recently hosted the 10th annual State Career Development
Conference with more than 160 students competing in the state finals. Students from
all over the state competed in 10 different categories that challenged their
critical thinking skills, entrepreneurial savvy, public speaking and writing
comprehension. More than 1,000 JAG Indiana students initially competed in the
regional events before the field was narrowed to 160 with the capstone
achievement being the Outstanding Senior recognition.
The criteria for Outstanding
Senior included academic performance, participation in JAG Career Association
activities, success in and out of the JAG classroom and a demonstration of
perseverance through personal and academic challenges. Sidney Shoaf of Pendleton Heights High School
was named the 2018 JAG Indiana Outstanding Senior, followed by runner up, Iesha
Young of Snider High School in Fort Wayne and Te’Airra Spencer of Calumet New
Tech High School, who placed third. Honorable mention awards included
Bailey LaFollette of Tippecanoe Valley High School, Kayla Edmondson of
Logansport High School, Nicholas Crump of Jay County High School, Parker
Timberman of Northview High School, Angie Evans of Bedford North Lawrence High
School, Mariah Grider of Jennings County High School, Nathaniel Stokes of
Jeffersonville High School, Ma’Nya Adams of Benjamin Bosse High School in
Evansville, and Jailah Carter of North Central High School in Indianapolis.
“It’s always gratifying to see
Indiana’s youth accomplishing such outstanding tasks and demonstrating their
skills and abilities,” said Indiana Gov. Eric J. Holcomb, who spoke at the
event and currently is serving as the Chair of the JAG National Board. “The JAG Indiana program continues to inspire
our state’s students, and today’s event was a great example of the bright future
these students have.”
Three awards also were presented to the school
Career Association, which is a student-led service learning component of the
JAG program, in the categories of marketing brochure which promotes the career
association and recruits new members, service learning blog that showcased
bullying prevention initiatives by the JAG Career Association, and a two-minute
commercial to promote JAG Indiana to their peers.
For a full list of winners from the
competition, please click
here.
“The students competing at the
JAG career development conference demonstrated the variety of skills and
range of ability that will prepare them for success as they continue their
education and pursue career opportunities,” said Fred Payne, Commissioner of
the Indiana Department of Workforce Development. “I was pleased to see the
efforts that all students put into this competition, and their performance was
a clear indication of why JAG Indiana has become the nation’s largest and most
successful program in the JAG national network.”
Beginning with just 12 schools in
2006, JAG Indiana has grown to the largest affiliate in the national network
with more than 137 programs statewide. Since its inception, more
than 18,000 Hoosiers have participated in JAG with 95 percent of these
students graduating from high school. JAG students receive career preparation
and life skills training while in school and one year of adult mentoring after
graduation to ensure their continued success. Many students choose to
continue their education after high school. In fact, JAG students secured more
than $26 million in scholarships for the class of 2017.
Visit jagindiana.org to learn more about the JAG Indiana program.
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About the Indiana Department of
Workforce Development
DWD
serves the worker and the employer to ensure workplace success. DWD is
committed to innovating and invigorating Indiana’s economic future by providing
WorkOne Career Centers, Unemployment Insurance, Labor Market Information,
Regional Workforce Strategies and Professional Training. Through these
services, DWD is able to develop a premier workforce that enables Indiana
employers to flourish and entices businesses from outside our state to relocate
to Indiana. DWD administers the JAG program in Indiana.
For
additional information, contact:
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