As part of National CTE Month in February, we are highlighting educators who work in Career Technical Education in Eastern Oregon school districts.
Meet Jane Waldher, School to Careers Coordinator at Weston-McEwen High School, Athena-Weston School District.
What do you do? I am responsible for establishing career readiness among all WMHS students by developing professional relationships with employers and community agencies to develop work experience sites for students, leading to high-wage, high-demand jobs.
Regarding School to Career efforts, what is your district’s focus during the 22-23 school year? This year, we are working to bring back as many career exploration opportunities as possible for our students. We are focusing on opening our school doors to community members and employees. We offered a Career Day with 14 speakers from the area and hosted mock interviews for all our juniors with community members helping interview them.
How do you think your work is making a difference for students? We are helping students think about what’s next after high school.
What is something people may not know about your job or about School to Career efforts? School to Careers is available to everyone at our high school! We love working with students to explore career paths or even just to help them find an after-school or summer job. We are always willing to help write a resume or cover letter or help students fill out a job application, which can be overwhelming at times.