Want to learn more about Work-Based Learning?

Want to know more about Work-Based Learning?

Work-based learning is a great way for you to tailor training and employment opportunities to students that are currently in high school or college. The region is full of students, at both the high school and college level, who are skilled and excited to jump into a career pathway.

One way to identify these young people and is through a work-based learning program in partnership with local educators. Students prefer a paid internship position over one that is not paid. If funding is a challenge for your organization, there are some grant opportunities available for qualifying businesses and students that could potentially cover the total cost of a college intern for your organization.

In this email, we’ve linked an informational webinar with resources from the State of Michigan, Department of Education team led by Celena Mills, along with some of the local contacts in the Great Lakes Bay Region.

If you’d like a personalized session on how to use this resource, please contact Carol McCaul, the Employer Talent Pipeline Lead with the Great Lakes Bay Regional Alliance at cmccaul@midmich.edu or 989-289-9849.

The webinar provides a listing of coordinators at each school, organized by county.

An updated list of all WBL contacts in the region for high school and high education institutions can be found here. In addition, more information on the talent pipeline can be found at STEMPipeline.com under business resources.

Email Carol to schedule

Download WBL Contacts

Watch the WBL Video

Ty Jarvis on how Internship Opportunities with GLBRA and STEM@SVSU Opened More Doors in STEM

I’m a student at Saginaw Valley State University (SVSU) currently in my sophomore year and in May 2022 I was offered a summer internship to work with the Great Lakes Bay Regional Alliance (GLBRA) and STEM@SVSU working on STEM-related efforts that helped me gain experience, knowledge and ultimately resulted in additional opportunities for me.

This internship gave me the chance to connect with graduating seniors in the area and help them connect with local businesses for potential internships, job shadows, etc. This was an amazing opportunity to work with these students and I was also able to work on my networking skills with organizations looking to connect to our talent pipeline in the region.

Through my internship experience with GLBRA, I had the opportunity to represent the Alliance and the Chief Science Officers (CSO) at the international STEM Ecosystem Conference in Bay City. Here, I had the opportunity to network with many companies in the area and many STEM professionals from around the world. The first day of the conference I was able to connect with CSOs from across the country and even some from Mexico and Canada to hear about their CSO journey and connect with CSO Director Kelly Greene.

At the conference, I was able to attend different sessions and spoke with several people from various backgrounds. My favorite session was STEM in Sports which detailed using sporting events of various sizes to host STEM events and increase youth involvement. Later in the day, I helped lead a session at Saginaw Valley State University to advertise the CSO Program. We gave a tour of campus, had CSOs from the GLBR share their stories, and allowed guests to explore SVSU’s Mobile STEM Lab.

Read the full post here

Through internship, SVSU student gains experience in the field

Spending time in soybean fields led Saginaw Valley State University student Avery Claybaugh to find her future career field. A business major with an agricultural studies minor from Weidman, northwest of Mt. Pleasant, Claybaugh serves as an intern with the Michigan Soybean Committee, where she’s been gaining experience in a variety of areas.

“I wanted to apply to intern at Michigan Soybean Committee because it was unlike anything else I have done thus far,” Claybaugh said. “I got to assist everyone on the team in their different specialties like communications, market development and research. I am forever grateful for the experiences I have had and the industry connections I’ve made.”

The Michigan Soybean Committee, which is headquartered in St. Johns, is a farmer-led membership organization that directs Michigan’s soybean checkoff program, providing research and promotion for its members.

“I did fieldwork for them all throughout the summer,” Claybaugh said. “I would say about one day a week was devoted to traveling to many different farmers’ fields all throughout the state of Michigan to collect data for our on-farm trials.”

The data collected will allow the organization to provide farmers with information about what is helpful to the soybeans and what may be hurting them.

She credits what she’s learned so far at SVSU with helping her in the field.

Growing up in a small, rural town gives Claybaugh an appreciation for the contributions of farmers and the challenges they face. She plans to return to a rural community after earning her SVSU degree.

“After graduation, I plan on working for an agribusiness,” she said. “There are a lot of opportunities that can come from a business degree, and because of this I am still figuring out what career is my best fit, but I’m leaning towards marketing or human resources for an agribusiness.

Claybaugh values her internship experience and encourages other students to pursue internships as well.

“Internships are important in your education because they provide you with real-world experience and also provide you with many connections that you can use when continuing your future career,” she said.

“Through the knowledge I’ve gained through the classroom I’ve learned so much about my field and where I want to go after graduation, so this is just a step to take my knowledge from the classroom into the real world and apply it into my future career.”

Learn more about Avery Claybaugh’s internship experience: video. (Content via SVSU)

Chief Science Officer + Employer Talent Pipeline Spotlight

The Great Lakes Bay Region Alliance is working to connect with students from the Chief Science Officer (CSO) Program to help fuel the talent pipeline. There is tremendous benefit in linking employers in the region to our future workforce through students with STEM interests and aptitude. As students are looking to focus on a particular area of study in college or for a career choice after college, development tools like internships, mentoring, job shadows, and site tours provide valuable context to both students and employers.

CSO Spotlight: Ashley Hoffman

Our CSO Spotlight this month is on CSO Alumni Ashley Hoffman. Ashley just started her sophomore year at SVSU, is passionate about sustainability and already has relevant work experience in the field . View and download Ashley Hoffman's CSO Spotlight here.

About the Chief Science Officer Program

The Chief Science Officer Program began five years ago here in the GLBR and has provided an amazing opportunity for students in the region to not only experience STEM, but begin to educate others about it. As CSO’s, these STEM Ambassadors advocate for STEM learning and work with their team to complete an action plan within their school or community.

Our CSOs have done some extraordinary things including:

Hosting flight nights with Jack Barstow Airport;
Sending STEM Kits to Africa; and
Putting together Teen Science Cafes for other students to become involved in STEM

These action plans and consistent participation in STEM learning have helped shape these young minds to take on and conquer anything in their way. The CSO Program has helped students develop into vocal STEM leaders, as well as helped build their communication, teamwork, time-management, and creative skills needed for the future.

https://www.stempipeline.com/