This week I would like to introduce you to two CAST Tech graduates, Leandro Saldaña, 2023, and Brooke Zepeda, 2022.
As a teenager, Leandro loved computers, taking them apart and gaming; he studied cyber security at CAST Tech before deciding to pursue a business degree in college. He was getting straight A’s his first year of university when he looked around at his lecture classroom, saw his fellow classmates studiously taking notes, and decided it was not for him.
“I was always pressured to go to college, college, it was always college,” he said, reflecting upon the fact that he ultimately felt like pursuit of the college degree was less important to him than to his family.
Brooke Zepeda studied UX at CAST Tech. Sitting in her university orientation, she had a realization that she was there not for herself, but for her family.
Talking to these young people, I am struck by how many assumptions about education that are just wrong. Our K12 education system is built on the idea that we must prepare students academically to be successful in college, and I agree, that is a moral imperative. But when you talk to young people who chose work instead of college, the reason is seldom that school was too hard. Instead, we hear stories of prioritizing supporting family members, an illness or other setback, or simply that college is boring and disconnected from the real world.
Across the US, there is evidence of growing disengagement from college by young people who do not necessarily see it as either interesting or the best path to economic mobility. This coincides with increasing concerns about the cost of college.
After leaving college, Leandro successfully applied for a job with a strong CAST employer partner and local company, Frost Bank, where he now works as a teller. He knows that the company offers a career ladder, and also tuition reimbursement, and his next step is to truly understand what that ladder could look like for him.
Brooke worked first at IHOP, then as a daycare teacher, and then as a leasing agent. The common element in these varied jobs was that she loved project management.
“I learned so much in each of these positions, but I never saw an opportunity to move into management,” she said.
She applied for and was hired for CAST’s inaugural project management apprenticeship program, grant-funded by the 80\20 Foundation and the Catalyze Challenge.
One of the reasons we at CAST are such fans of apprenticeships, or learn-to-earn programs, is because of the way they intentionally build career ladders and allow students to learn while continuing to earn. Leandro and Brooke are examples of young people who have found their way into a job where there is an opportunity to climb. That is happy news, even if they still need guidance, whether it be from family, mentors, or supervisors, to ensure they continue to advance on that path.
In recent weeks, our two college interns have been calling students in our Alumni Network, checking in, and asking what sort of support or resources they may need. What is most heartbreaking to me is when a student with technical skills for whatever reason has ended up in a job that does not take advantage of those skills.
The more we invest in this work at CAST, the more we talk to young people, the more I am convinced that we are on the right path with our career-connected learning. Two weeks ago, I visited JCB in the UK, and saw students beginning apprenticeships as early as age 16.
We’re on the right path, and also, we can do more. We are so grateful to the dedicated employer partners we have, and this year our goal is to strengthen those relationships and build even more.
I want to thank Leandro and Brooke for the very personal reminders of why this work matters, and it doesn’t stop at the end of high school.
Jeanne Russell
Executive Director
CAST Schools
