JAG-K Students get 'Future Ready' at Career Expo hosted by CVA

Jobs for America's Graduates - Kansas (JAG-K) students from four high schools learned about careers in agriculture at the "Future Ready" Central Valley Ag (CVA) Career Expo in Beloit, Kansas on October 23. 

More than 100 students and staff from the JAG-K programs at Beloit, Concordia, Marysville and Minneapolis high schools learned about a host of career options with CVA at an event at the Mitchell County Fairgrounds in Beloit. 

CVA is a farmer-owned cooperative that provides products and services in grain, agronomy, feed and energy. 

Students participating in the expo were led through stations that demonstrated 10 different career opportunities within CVA: IT, Marketing, Talent, Business Services, Agronomy Sales, Operations, Safety, Feed, Energy and Grain. At each station, students gained hands-on experience and insights from CVA employees. 

"They taught us so much about the company," said Chris LaPolice, a senior from Concordia High School. "They showed all the different skills and how they connected between all the different areas: how safety connected with energy, and how the business side connected with computer tech."

"It was something anyone could learn from. You could have no experience coming in, and at the end of the day have an idea of what CVA is and what it's about. The people of CVA want the best for the ag community, and it shows." 

CVA was first formed in 2003 by three Nebraska cooperatives. Since then, it has unified with several cooperatives in Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska. 

"Central Valley Ag is committed to improving, encouraging, and enabling the healthy development of youth throughout the region," said CVA Talent Coordinator, Bethany Gilley. "By helping our youth pursue their agricultural career, we ensure that the agricultural industry continues to grow." 

JAG-K is a multi-year, in-school program for students in grades 6-12 that offers tools to successfully transition students into post-secondary school, the military, or directly into the workforce with marketable skills. Workforce partners like CVA introduce JAG-K students to opportunities in a host of career fields such as agriculture. 

"CVA has been a great support for us since we started JAG-K at our school," said Jay Macy, Career Specialist at Minneapolis High School. "The thing that was so special about 'Future Ready' in Beloit was the variety of occupations and valuable information that was passed on to our students in a very efficient manner. Each student could find something that resonated with them at one or more of the career stations." 

Kansas' 114 JAG-K programs serve approximately 6,200 students in 48 school districts across the state. JAG-K Career Specialists help students graduate and learn career, leadership, and life skills by executing a nationally-accredited, evidence-based model. Participants must meet criteria to be selected for the program and have potential to overcome various barriers to post-secondary success. Last year, JAG-K had 805 high school graduates. 

To learn more about JAG-K, visit www.jagkansas.org, or "Jobs for America's Graudates-Kansas" on Facebook and LinkedIn. 

To reach out to Central Valley Ag about career opportunities or educational programs, please email info@cvacoop.com.