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8th Grade Day - Another Successful Event!

Be sure to click on any picture to open the 3 picture galleries!

Brian Nelson, JoAnne Keene, Bill Yohnka, Frank Petkunas, Cindy DeGroot and Andy Czako made a phenominal Business Panel team.

Thank you CSL Behring! Wow, such a fine group of folks to talk STEM with the students. Techie, Smart, Funny and Very Interesting! Great wealth of information all while enjoying a hands-on experience. Left to Right are: Cameron Putz – St. Anne Danielle Bortoli - Frankfort Jonathan Lanum - Bourbonnais Courtney Sanor - Bradley Tony Shock – San Pierre, IN Gretchen Elliot - Watseka Rob Stewart - Kankakee Mike A McAvoy - Homewood Jeremy Silcox - Bourbonnais Aaron Imig - Manteno

Aqua Illinois' Kevin Culver and Melissa Kalhoun had lots of interesting information to share with students.

Special thanks to volunteers RaDonna Hasselbring and Paige Salomone, who worked closely with Teresa Cailteaux from KARVES to ensure everything ran smoothly for area youth.

Students exploring one of the several CSL STEM set-ups.

Dr. Theury, Professor at U of I Extension, shared great information in the Outdoor/Natural Resources Breakout Sessions

Students really engaged with our business representatives to learn about careers.

IBEW 176 - who like so many others, a consistent source of great information about career paths available for a "bright" future!

Brad Prairie and Tim McGrath from Ravenspring gave students a rare glimpse into how to make a career in the Arts, Audio-Visual and Graphic Design industry.

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Brian Nelson, JoAnne Keene, Bill Yohnka, Frank Petkunas, Cindy DeGroot and Andy Czako made a phenominal Business Panel team.

Kankakee Area Reg. Vocational Education System teamed up with local businesses and the Kankakee Area Career Center to present the annual 8^th Grade Career Awareness Program.

Eighth grade may just be the perfect time to really dig in to career exploration.  High school is just around the corner for these future workers and their educational path and course selection is important.  Having a focus and pathway toward a future most certainly will help shed light on the value of setting educational goals to succeed in their chosen career.

This next set of photos highlights 8th graders exploring courses available at Kankakee Area Career Center. KACC Students represented their programs extremely well, in a professional manner.

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This next set of photos highlights 8th graders exploring courses available at Kankakee Area Career Center. KACC Students represented their programs extremely well, in a professional manner.

Almost 1,600 reservations were received from area 8^th Graders from Will, Kankakee and Iroquois Counties and were given the opportunity to attend. 

Every student attended a general business session with Andy Czako, McColly-Bennett Real Estate; Cindy DeGroot, Sojourn/Riverside; JoAnne Keen, Frank’s Appliance and Sleepsource Center; Brian Nelson, Megaplex IT Solutions; and Bill Yohnka, from WKAN AM and City of Kankakee. 

These 8^th graders also registered for two career-specific breakout sessions they were interested to attend.  Every student had their own ticket provided with their selections and session times listed. Their options included meeting and learning from area business leaders from Ravenspring Creative, LLC; CSL Behring; Aqua Illinois; University of Illinois; NECA-IBEW Local 176; Kankakee Fire Department; Illinois State Police, Kankakee Police Department and last but not least, Riverside Medical Center.

If these young men and women are an indication of our future workforce, we are in good shape.  According to Matt Kelley from KARVES/KACC, “Students were so respectful, well behaved and, very interested in the information these incredible business professionals had to share.”

Ready to welcome 8th graders! Teresa Cailteux, Special Populations Assistant; Len Wettergren, Volunteer; and Matt Kelley, KACC Assistant Principal/KARVES Special Populations Coordinator.

KARVES/KACC Director, Don Fay with Gloria Alcantar, KACC Cosmetology Instructor

Nancy Ryan with Michael DeBetta, two of KACC's Learning Center Tutors who are always eager volunteers to make this event fantastic!

JoAnne Keene, Franks Appliance and Sleepsource Co-Owner intently listens to speaker, Brian Nelson of IT Megaplex (not pictured). Mr. Nelson gave inspiring presentations.

Andy Czako, Managing Broker of Bennett Commercial spoke of how his career path had many twists and turns before he knew he had the right career for him.

Cindy DeGroot, Riverside Sojourn Senior Living and DeGroot Farms, actually is a welcome member of KACC Alumni and our Business Panel. Her enthusiasm, energy and great message always holds student attention.

Bill Yohnka from Kankakee Economic Development, WKAN morning show with Allison Beasley, voice of the Kankakee Area Speedway also had lots of insight and wisdom to share with our special guests, leaving them energized and thinking about their future.

Great Team of Speakers for the panel.

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Ready to welcome 8th graders! Teresa Cailteux, Special Populations Assistant; Len Wettergren, Volunteer; and Matt Kelley, KACC Assistant Principal/KARVES Special Populations Coordinator.

"There's no way we can thank these business professionals enough," commented Director, Don Fay.  "Year after year, they return to the Hilton Garden Inn to share knowledge and an incredible amount of insight and enthusiasm to help inspire students not only to finish their education, but start to think about what educational path might fit best after high school."