COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (KMTV) — Council Bluffs Wilson Middle School students invited KMTV reporter, Katrina Markel, to participate in their podcast. It's just one project for the the eighth grade iJAG class; that stands for "Iowa Jobs for American Graduates."In iJAG, students learn skills such as interviewing, public speaking, and leadership.
- Their teacher, Kiley Sellers, says podcast was a fun way for the students to learn about different career options all while developing skills that require them to talk to adults, ask questions, and work with technology.
- Terrence Washington was part of a team that took third place in the state for a presentation on mental health access for kids: “It’s important to me to know that everybody gets that access to be okay and be healthy mentally.”
- RELATED | Glenwood students organize career fair for hundreds of peers from other schools
WATCH KATRINA'S STORY BELOW
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Ms. Sellers: “I’m going to play it and you can start whenever you’re ready.”
Terrence: Welcome to iTalk iJAG, I’m Terrence Washington, one of the three hosts of today’s video.”
I’m Southwest Iowa neighborhood reporter Katrina Markel.
“iJAG” stands for “Iowa Jobs for American graduates.”
Sellers: “But this is an opportunity to get them exposed to all the different types of jobs that are out there.”
Kiley Sellers is the iJAG educator at Wilson Middle School in Council Bluffs.
Sellers: “We practice interviews, job application skills, resumes...”
(Eighth-grader Bryson offers his hand to Katrina Markel.)
“Good morning...”
I was on the other side of the mic as the Wilson eighth-graders interviewed me for their class podcast.
Katrina to Bryson: “Do you know what VHS tapes were? (Bryson nods) Yeah, it’s an old technology.”
Oliver: “How important do you believe ongoing education is in the field of journalism?”
Katrina: “It’s really important because it’s changing all the time.”
They're learning about different careers...
Oliver to Katrina: “What kind of education and training is needed for your position?”
The podcast is just one part of the class. Vicente helped organize a litter clean-up day.
Vicente: “My role? I am social learning, which is finding problems in the community and trying to figure out how to fix them.”
Ulises wants to be a welder: “I like presenting, public speaking, yeah.”
Terrence was part of a team that took third place in the state for a presentation on mental health access for kids: “It’s important to me to know that everybody gets that access to be okay and be healthy mentally.”
I easily learned as much from the eighth-graders as they learned from me.
The podcast will be shared on a private social media account for the school community.
Oliver: “This is iTalk iJag, signing off.”
