The Career & College Readiness Center: Preparing Students for Careers, College and Life

The newly updated Career and College Readiness (CCR) Center at Richfield High School is a place where students can find information and assistance on a wide range of postsecondary opportunities, including two and four-year colleges, trade schools, internships and more. At the CCR, students can not only to explore options and create a plan for post-graduation, but staff can assist them with college searches, applications, scholarships and more. They have a job board for students looking for part-time work while in high school, and rolling announcements filled with postsecondary news and opportunities. 

During advisory time, students participate in CCR lessons based on the Naviance curriculum, a comprehensive platform designed to develop essential competencies students need to be successful after high school. These lessons guide students in exploring postsecondary options and completing necessary tasks based on their interests and skills. Our full-time CCR Coordinator, Julie Magnuson, along with RHS Counselors, supplement these lessons by meeting with students individually and in small groups. They connect students with college, career and/or military representatives, share scholarship information, provide college brochures, post jobs, help with college searches and applications, and work in tandem for all things postsecondary! They also coordinate guest speakers to talk about their careers and inspire students to dream big. 

But postsecondary planning doesn’t start at high school. Ms. Magnuson also coordinates all lessons for CCR classes at Richfield Middle School (RMS), where students begin envisioning and creating their postsecondary futures from sixth grade onward—helping to ensure they have a solid sense of purpose and a strong start when they enter high school.

“As a former RMS English teacher, one of my greatest joys is working with students that I first met as pre-teens back at the middle school, seeing them now as they graduate high school and launch their postsecondary lives” says Ms. Magnuson. “To help them fulfill dreams they could only begin to articulate a few years ago is particularly rewarding!”

Here is just a snapshot of the services provided by Ms. Magnuson and the high school counseling team:

College Exploration

• Postsecondary experiences and visits from admissions representatives
• Postsecondary application guidance
• Financial aid and scholarship research
• FAFSA and Dream Act assistance
• Partnerships with other college access providers, such as College Possible and Upward Bound
• ACT test registration and preparation

Career Skills

• Pathway exploration
• Resume writing
• Job interview skills
• Community service and college prep activities
• Apprenticeships, internships and on-the-job training, such as GenesysWorks

Students can visit the CCR Center by stopping in during the school day and by appointment. It is located on the second floor between the media center and the band rooms. Learn more by visiting the Career & College Readiness web page on the RHS website.