The Career Development Program at Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic prepares students for post-secondary and post-baccalaureate life.

Students engage with Jen Parsons, program manager, who sets them up for success with individually tailored career action plans, unique internship opportunities and eye-opening field trips to open students’ minds to their futures.

We believe in starting career exploration early and continuously building on career-focused skills as students matriculate from freshmen to seniors. As one of the only high schools in the tri-state regions that boasts this program, CWNC looks ahead to preparing students for the 21st century.

January 2016 marked the kickoff of the CAP (Career Action Plan) for all freshman and sophomore students at CWNC. The CAP helps students with their career exploration and career-focused skills, starting in ninth grade.

The ultimate goal is for students to have job shadowing opportunities with local companies and create a vast network or resources available to all students at CWNC.

The “My Path” Speaker Series kicked off to a great start. This opportunity allows the interface for students to connect with local alumni, business owners, entrepreneurs and the like to better pilot their drive for success after CWNC.

With the innovative and hands-on experiences, the Career Development Program at CWNC proves that high school is the best time to prepare the future in 21st century education, and Jen Parsons helps students reach their fullest potential to reach their goals.

Another new endeavor of CWNC this year was the achievement of the students who participated in the Verizon Innovative App Challenge, earning them the prize of Best in Nation app.

These five students, Luc Madonna, Matt Esser, Veronica Muth, Chris Virostek and Giovanna Esposito, worked collaboratively to create an app to keep student drivers safe and give parents peace of mind. By implementing a system in which the parents would be notified via text message if their child was traveling in an unsafe vehicle, this app incorporates accountability on the student’s behalf.

One of the students who created the app was influenced by a tragic car accident that resulted in the death of a friend, so they were compelled to make safety precautions for more teen drivers across the globe.

The students earned not only $20,000 for the school, but also the chance to work with app creators from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and compete in Tennessee this June to make this app proposal a reality for consumer use.

This article was submitted by Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic.