Discovering the Trades

Seattle, WA — A collaboration between Aki Kurose Middle School and the City of Seattle produced a three-day experiential learning camp for 30 students to discover the possibilities of a career in the building trades through hands-on activities and meeting with industry professionals. The Aki Kurose Middle School Trades Week dovetailed with the school’s focus on expanding opportunities for students to be engaged applying classroom learning to hands-on experiences in college/career pathway exploration.

“We believe that powerful post-secondary pathways include opportunities for youth to explore multiple college and career possibilities so they can connect their skills and passions to a plan for their future,” said Natalie Williams, School Transformation Facilitator, Aki Kurose Middle School/Talent Development Secondary.

Participants’ comments speak for themselves!

“I liked this program because I got to learn more about things like electricity and building things and it reminds me of my family members who do this work,” commented student Itlyn. “I’ve always wanted to do this job.”

“This week really opened my eyes to understanding that not every construction job has to be operated by males,” said mentor Ms. Shay. “There is plenty of room for women in this type of trade.”

“This week was really interesting because I got to learn about a lot of trades that no one really talks about.” –Malyia, student

“What I learned at Trades Week is that you have to be safe and you need to know how to do math, like Algebra,” said Ynabi, student.

And from Mebrahtu, student: “This was a really big eye opener for me, because I’m thinking about doing this in the future.”

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