Students in the 2021-2022 Future Ready Perry Pathways program shared breakfast Friday morning at the Hotel Pattee and recognized the students and staff who participated in the DMACC at Perry VanKirk Career Academy Pathways Program.
In addition to the morning breakfast, students submitted their personal resumes in an exercise that illustrated their career readiness.
Darek VanKirk, president of the Progressive Foundry in Perry, was the breakfast’s guest speaker, sharing his life journey from an initial plan to work in the banking industry to his current role at one of Perry’s leading industries.
VanKirk said he finds satisfaction in the skilled-trades industry, building processes and providing a finished product.
“When you find something you like, you have something special,” VanKirk told the students. “Find a role model. Smiles are contagious. Give everything you can to make you and your product better. Be passionate. You will find what you need to do. You will find what makes you happy.”
He told the students that one’s frame of mind is crucial to success.
“Attitude is the key,” said VanKirk, who graduated from PHS and later served on the Perry School Board. “It is the key to advance and to become a better person. Attitude is a choice. Attitude matters. Your attitude is everything.”
Following VanKirk’s remarks, DMACC at Perry VanKirk Career Academy Director Eddie Diaz presented a set of awards, the Perry Economic Development Certificates of Achievement and the Perry Economic Development $100 Dollar Scholar to the Future Ready Perry students who met program expectations during the second semester of the 2021-2022 school year.
The Future Ready Perry initiative is a community academic movement that brings together three partners — DMACC at Perry VanKirk Career Academy, Perry Economic Development and Perry High School — that all work together in pursuit of high levels of academic success and career readiness.
The program connects the interests of high school students to future career pathways, supporting and incentivizing students to stay on the pathway until they reach their goals.
The Future Ready Perry initiative consists of the Applied Engineering Pathway and the Teacher Pathway with focus on a career path and key employability skills while enrolled in related high school and DMACC academy courses. The Pathways are entry preparation for the DMACC at Perry VanKirk Applied Engineering Academy, the Welding Academy and the Teacher Academy through the Career Advantage program. Career Advantage provides students with high school and tuition free DMACC academic credit simultaneously and preparation for future entry into the workforce or post-secondary programs.
For more information or to get involved in the Future Ready Perry initiative, call Connie Saenz or Tom Lipovac at the DMACC at Perry VanKirk Career Academy at 515-428-8100.
