The County Press

High schoolers: Explore outdoors in Career Pathways Program


A group of teenage boys and girls dressed in fishing waders Photo MI DNR

A group of teenage boys and girls dressed in fishing waders Photo MI DNR

ROSCOMMON COUNTY —- Students ready for an intensive, inspiring four days immersed in natural resources learning are encouraged to submit their applications for this year’s Career Pathways Program, June 23-27 at the Ralph A. MacMullan Conference Center on beautiful Higgins Lake in Roscommon County. Program highlights include hands-on field experiences with wildlife and fish biologists, foresters, park rangers and conservation officers.

DNR education manager Kevin Frailey oversees the program, now in its second year. “Over the course of a year, our department gets hundreds of inquiries from parents and students about natural resources careers,” he said. “We wanted to create a sampler of many of our key positions and let students learn about these unique career paths from the professionals themselves.”

Research shows the value of the “resident experience” in terms of learning and retention, so Career Pathways participants spend their five days and four nights at the northern Michigan conference center. Aside from field work with DNR professionals, students also get the opportunity to meet representatives from Michigan colleges and get tips on résumé building and interviewing for jobs.

Applications are due March 15 and selections will be made by May 1. More information and a downloadable application are available at the Career Pathways webpage.

Details: Contact Kevin Frailey at fraileyk@michigan.gov or Bruce Ross at brucej.ross@yahoo.com.