GMCC & LakeStreet Youth Labs have successfully wrapped up our second Leadership & Career Exploration program! The 2025-2026 cohort met twice weekly, on Mondays and Wednesdays, from October 2025 to April 2026. This program is a paid opportunity for high school students to practice job shadowing, mock interviews, & resume building; receive 1:1 mentorship; learn social & emotional skills; go on field trips and meet guest speakers from a variety of career fields. A total of 15 students participated this school year.
Members of the 2025-2026 Leadership & Career Cohort
Guest speakers included Air Force Pilot Marcus Williams; Hennepin County Violence Prevention Manager Antonio Smith, who taught the students how to apply to Hennepin County contracts; Physical Trainer Marje Rouser; Licensed Doula Danielle Buckner, Neuroscientist Torrica Yamada, and representatives from TruStone Credit Union who taught financial skills. The goal was to recruit guest speakers from diverse identities and backgrounds to serve as aspirational figures for our students.
Physical Trainer Marje Rouser presenting to the cohort
The sessions started with individual goal-setting and action-planning for mentor/mentee check-ins, as well as introducing the SMART goals framework and “Wins” journals to keep track of their successes. Topics discussed at the beginning of the program were common employment barriers, drafting resumes, and applying transferable skills. The cohort also got to know each other with team-building games that strengthened communication, leadership, and problem-solving skills as a group, like the Human Knot and Magic Carpet.
TruStone Credit Union presenting on money skills
Towards the end of the Fall semester, students began preparing for mock interviews. Students also learned how to build a 30-45 second elevator pitch about who they are, what they’re working toward, and what they need from opportunities. They worked in pairs to rehearse delivery and refine the pitches before presenting them to the group.
For the Spring semester, the cohort participated in a Skill Story activity, where they reflected on personal experiences and identified transferable skills such as perseverance, adaptability, leadership, and teamwork. The activities supported self-awareness and helped students connect lived experiences to skill development applicable to career readiness and personal growth.
Tour of the Summit Academy Construction learning facilities
Other Spring sessions included cover letter and resume writing, workplace etiquette, and roleplaying workplace scenarios. The cohort was able to go on a field trip to Summit Academy OIC in North Minneapolis. Summit Academy OIC is an accredited, non-profit Career and Technical Education (CTE) Institute that offers no-cost, specialized training and industry-recognized certifications for in-demand careers in Construction, Healthcare, Financial Services, and Information Technology.
Tour of Summit Academy Healthcare learning facilities
Twin Cities R!SE, who we worked with for the 2024-2025 cohort, returned for a few sessions to teach their Empowerment Institute curriculum, which provides transformative Emotional Intelligence Training. The training covers over 40 emotional concepts, employing a spiral facilitation method that allows for processing time, practice, habit formation, and layered learning.
Twin Cities R!SE facilitating an Empowerment Institute session
The program wrapped up with a Leadership & Career Graduation on April 29th to celebrate the students’ accomplishments! Parents and loved ones were invited to have pizza & ice cream, listen to final speeches from staff, and hear testimonials from students about what they learned and are taking away from the program.
A student’s graduation certificate
To receive their completion stipend, student did exit interviews to share more feedback and suggestions for future programming:
“I would advise anyone interested in joining that this is a serious and fun cohort to be a part of. Not only does it open doors for you skill wise but it also prepares you for the real world, specifically a job setting. All of the information you receive is very educational and being a part of this cohort is a privilege.” – Bristol
Bristol posing with her graduation certificate
“I thought that leadership was meant for one person, but realized that anyone can do it. I also felt like getting and keeping a job was going to be easy, but learned now that you have to practice and prepare for it so that you can present yourself in the best way possible”. – Nariyah
Nariyah posing with her graduation certificate
“It’s really fun, you meet cool people and you learn a lot of life skills, like how to do taxes, and it feels like you get a good head start and it helps young people to figure out their life. After the cohort, I realized I don’t need to settle on a job and can put my skills and the things I’m good at into something I want to do”. – Nicolas
Students posing with their graduation certificates
“I would tell people who want to join the program that it’s an amazing place to come to and break out of your shell and become a better person”. – Jayronn
Damien posing with his graduation certificate
Thank you so much to the students, guest speakers, partner organizations, and staff for a great year of Leadership & Career Exploration! And a huge thank you to Youthprise and Hennepin Youth Employment Services for funding this work!
Leadership & Career cohort members and staff at the graduation
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