Students dig in to marketing, policy and planning

Get to know just some of the projects students have taken on

By Kate Hayden | khayden@charlescitypress.com

Osage seniors Alex Gentz and Hannah Mauser huddled up on Wednesday at 500 North Grand, trying to think like potential graduate students. How would a graduate teaching program reach art teachers looking for higher training?

Gentz and Mauser are two of the Osage Iowa BIG North participants meeting with New Hampton and Charles City high schoolers. Pushing art education opportunities was a second-ranked passion project for both of them –– one of several opportunities for students who’ve committed to taking on at least two projects through Iowa BIG.

“I’d say I’m a pretty creative person. I don’t want to be an art teacher, but I’m really into marketing, so I think figuring out how to market art in education will just be fun,” Gentz said.

“I think for the two of us and what we want to go into after high school, this is a really good start for what we want to be doing,” Mauser added.

Wednesday’s brainstorming session marked the first step students made in meeting their project colleagues and setting the agenda for their work. A week after the business and classmate pitches were put online, students have now prioritized their interests and are digging in a little deeper. From now on, students will independently coordinate with their project colleagues to work across school district lines for private businesses or student-led passions, meeting in person as needed and connecting with their businesses or Iowa BIG teacher representatives for support.

Charles City senior Madison Davis has been trying out an individualized method of physical education credit-tracking on her own, thanks to the help of Charles City High School Principal Josh Johnson and her P.E. teacher. Working with an initial group of ten Charles City and New Hampton students, she wants a way to standardize individual P.E. credits.

“You hear all the time about how kids don’t like gym, so they don’t like exercise,” Davis said. “Exercise can be done in many different ways, and by this kids will like to exercise more, rather than in P.E., just being told what to do.”

Finding an effective way to track credit hours while letting students choose how they want to be active will help students understand the importance of fitness, Davis said.

“They do it in their own fun way so they will actually like it,” New Hampton junior Celena Quirk added.

Charles City senior Brenden Kvernevig and junior Hannah Baljeu both have an agriculture background that encouraged them to work with Brecksviews Farm.

It’s a challenge to help small farms effectively share their story with the public –– and bring awareness to a industry families love, Baljeu said.

“They are looking for help on communicating to the public how they function as a farm, and how a pig goes from the pig itself to the plate where you eat from,” Baljeu said. “I’ve been raising animals since I was really little…I love educating people about the animals I raise.”

-20161003-