As several Bemidji High School students graduate this spring, they aren’t just getting a diploma; they’ll be celebrating four years of career exploration, completion of Bemidji Career Academies, earning certifications, college credits and paid internships.

And, they’ll be several steps closer to their future careers. While most high schools offer some level of career-related counseling rather than just the push to college preparation that was the trend for the past two decades or more, the career academies program at BHS is one of the most extensive, diverse and successful programs in the state.

In its fifth year of operation, the program is an intricate network of partnerships, local business connections and sponsorships. It offers a variety of career exploration opportunities, career pathways with course recommendations, and even paid internships for students.

There are 15 different academies available for students in grades 9-12 with 20 exploratory programs and 22 career pathways ranging from graphic arts to engineering, from childcare to health careers, and from aeronautics to culinary arts.

When Lauren Berg started ninth grade at BHS, she thought she might be interested in something in the medical field, but wasn’t sure. As a part of the career academies program, she has taken classes that cover several areas including engineering and aerospace, but focused on healthcare and medicine.

Now her high school transcript includes every science and health careers-related course available at BHS, including medical terminology and anatomy/physiology.

Berg has also earned her Certified Nursing Assistant certification through Northwest Technical College.

“Now I can start working in the med field this summer,” Berg said, gaining experience that will help her pursue a career in healthcare.

Through Sanford Health's MedX program, Berg said, she has had opportunities to explore careers and talk with people in various medical fields. She even got some hands-on experience with the physical therapy department.

“I got to do actual activities,” she said.

Field trips to NTC let her explore a variety of careers. At this point, she is thinking about being a physical therapist or a physician’s assistant.

Berg had an internship at Choice Therapy this spring and is lining up a job shadowing experience with a physician’s assistant. Next year she will attend the College of St. Benedict to pursue a bachelor's degree in biology before going on to graduate school.

Sanford Health benefits, too; working with high school students like Berg helps to create “a pipeline for future health care workers.”

When Abby Johnson started ninth grade, she was considering a career in physical therapy.

In fourth grade, she had broken her collarbone. “My (physical therapist) was the coolest ever,” she said, but when she started taking classes in technology through Project Lead The Way pre-engineering classes, she found a completely different career interest.

That interest led her into advanced classes, robotics and math league.

She has completed two academies — Project Lead The Way and Aerospace Technology. Last summer, a one-day-a-week exploratory at Wells Technology allowed her to sit in on meetings and job shadow manufacturing engineers.

“After that, I was hooked,” she said.

While at Wells, she used a computer-assisted drafting program and other advanced technology. Next year, Johnson will attend the University of Minnesota for mechanical engineering.

Her experiences with the BHS robotics team as the team lead, specifically for outreach, have given her a passion she hopes to share by mentoring a robotics team in the Twin Cities.

She has presented at other schools and said, “It’s cool to see little kids go crazy for robots. It’s important to me to continue in that after college.”

Johnson credits the career academy staff for their “insanely supportive and encouraging” guidance.

“(Career Academies Director) Brian Stefanich pushed me to try things,” she said, and those experiences have led to college credit and scholarships.

Shawna Coulter’s high school career has involved the usual coursework as well as a part-time job, but through involvement in several career academies, she found interests and career possibilities she would never have discovered otherwise.

As a ninth-grader, she wanted to be an entrepreneur and took some business classes.

“I even started a side business, selling pop to kids on the bus,” she said.

Then, she took a few medical careers classes and learned about opportunities through NTC. She completed the Certified Nursing Assistant program there her junior year, and her interest in medical careers grew, so she explored more and learned about anesthesiology.

Coulter has been involved in seven different academies and completed the requirements for six.

“We’ve had a few students complete four academies, but Shawna has explored more than any other student I can think of," Stefanich said. "She completed 10 exploring programs — she broke the record.”

Coulter stopped by the office regularly and explored everything from photography to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. One day Karen Vleck, Career Academies administrative assistant, told her about a new opportunity at the Boys and Girls Club.

“We’re starting this up,” Vleck told her. “You should try it.”

“I wouldn’t have thought about exploring there,” Coulter said, “but the kids are so much fun.”

Working with children helped broaden her horizons, she said, and “chatting with kids” became a “random skill I’ve learned through this.”

She was also excited by what she learned through exploratories at Paul Bunyan Broadcasting and Lakeland TV. As her interests grew, she found connections between seemingly unrelated fields.

At Hill’s Country Greenhouse, Coulter said she learned “so many things I never would’ve thought I’d learn about plants.”

She made connections between nurturing plants and developing skills needed to keep people alive.

She has three different jobs lined up after graduation and will save money during a gap year before starting college with a career in anesthesiology in mind.

Avery Gieser has also explored a variety of interests throughout high school.

As a ninth-grader, he might have listed “something related to computers” as a possible career area, but through the career academies, he has completed a Megatronics program, Project Lead The Way courses, national certifications for AC/DC Electrical, Mechanical Fabrication, Computer Numerical Control Lathe Machining, Rotating Machines, and his MCSS National Safety Certificate.

This adds up to nearly $9,000 worth of training made possible by sponsorships, grants, local businesses and partner programs connected to the academies.

With the certifications and articulated college credits he has already earned, Gieser is headed for a career in engineering. His involvement in the BHS orchestra all four years has provided “memories and fun times,” as did his competing in trap shooting — and serving as team captain the past three years.

Leadership skills earned there and as captain of the robotics “build team” the past three years also look good on his resume.

During an exploratory tour of Bemidji Steel Company last month, Gieser’s interests and skills turned the tour into more of a job interview, he said.

A few weeks later, he started working for Bemidji Steel. His direct supervisor is Jacob Slough, a 2020 BHS graduate who also started at Bemidji Steel while still in high school.

Gieser had planned on working road construction this summer before he heads to Alexandria Technical College for mechanical engineering in the fall, but the opportunity at Bemidji Steel will give him on-the-job experience in engineering.

He joins another senior intern, Kolby Christiansen, who started at Bemidji Steel last summer.

Through partnerships with 50 area businesses, Youth Skills Training, Bemidji Sanford MedX, Northwest Technical College, Minnesota Innovation Initiative, and other programs and organizations, BHS Career Academies are purposefully preparing students for the future.

Many class of 2022 graduates have been involved in one or more of the 20 exploratory posts or worked in paid internships while in high school.

Other paid interns include Benjamin Sullivan and Taylor Lundin at Dick’s Northside Auto Service; Gabby Johnson at Choice Therapy; Camille McDermot and Jacob Ehlers at Nortech Systems, Inc.; Treyton Pearson and Cody Lyle at North Central Door Company; and Massy Toward and Madison Lindgren at Sanford Health's Neilson Place.

Several other seniors have earned multiple certificates in mechanical, technical or manufacturing applications; others have worked through the nationwide Law Enforcement Explorers program with the Bemidji Police Department.

The class of 2022, even through COVID-19 and disrupted schedules, has had opportunities to guide them from high school to the futures of their choice.