Office of Access and Workforce Opportunity, Admissions, Industry Host Middle School Students

More than 300 students from Ben Reifel Middle School in Sioux Falls were on the Southeast Technical College campus last week to explore college and careers. The STC Offices of Access and Workforce Opportunity and Admissions teamed up with Avera Research Institute, Marmen Energy, Natural Beauty and Sanford for the event.

Learning Stations

Hosted by Industry Partners

Students rotated between five stations, hosted by the STC Admissions Office and industry partners:

1. Avera Research Institute

   Avera Research Institute discussed the research process and walked students through a “double blind” study, which was a taste test of lemonade with different food coloring added to it. Students paired up and had to determine the difference in the samples. There weren’t any differences other than color (same drink) but the color in some cases did create a perceived difference or bias.

2. Marmen Energy

   Marmen Energy talked about the wind industry and welding. Marmen employs people in a variety of fields, so even if students are not interested in welding, there is a host of other job titles within the industry.

3. Natural Beauty

   Natural Beauty, a 20-acre greenhouse facility on the edge of Sioux Falls, shared information about careers in the green industry. Manager Alla Kureninova talked about how she came to the United States from Ukraine over a decade ago with no professional skills. But she found an inclusive, expansive career within the horticulture industry at Natural Beauty.

4. Sanford

   Sanford discussed careers in healthcare and talked students through the process of safely assisting someone to stop bleeding and create a tourniquet.

5. STC Admissions Office

   The Southeast Tech admissions representatives were on hand to guide the students across campus and talk with students about what they should be keeping in mind as they prepare to enter high school so that they can think about their path to college.

The event was made possible through a partnership with the Promising Futures Fund, which seeks to provide opportunities for college visits to students in Title I schools. Whitter Middle School, George McGovern Middle School and Ben Reifel Middle School have all visited STC through this partnership, which is in its third year.