For Lorie Campbell, helping students explore what is possible is personal.
As a first-generation college student, Lorie did not always know what career opportunities were available to her. She entered college without a clear vision for her future, an experience that now shapes the work she does as an Education Specialist at Wilson Education Service Center (WESC).
Today, Lorie works primarily in the Work-Based Learning (WBL) space, supporting member districts as they create career exploration and work-based learning opportunities for students. She collaborates with building leaders, WBL Coordinators, and Career Coaches to understand their needs and determine how WESC can best support their work.
Connecting Educators Across the Region
No two days look quite the same for Lorie.
She facilitates the Career Coaches/WBL Networking Group, provides training and support for VR technology used for career exploration, attends district meetings alongside the Skyepack team, and hosts quarterly networking meetings that bring together educators from across WESC’s 12-county region.
Those connections give educators at different stages
of WBL implementation opportunities to ask questions, exchange resources and ideas, and learn from one another’s experiences.
Creating connections with industry is another important part of expanding career-connected learning. Last spring, WESC hosted Educator Industry Visits and partnered with Five Star Technology Solutions to develop a toolkit educators can use to plan similar experiences and bring career-connected learning back to their classrooms. That work continued through a webinar featuring perspectives from an industry partner, building leaders, and an educator who participated in an Educator Industry Visit.
Professional learning provided by Skyepack around School-Based Enterprises and microinternships has also helped spark new conversations and initiatives across the region.
Turning School Needs Into New Opportunities
One of those conversations is now developing into a new opportunity.
When a building leader asked whether WESC could create a microinternship focused on the education pathway, Lorie and WESC began exploring the possibilities with the Skyepack team.
The goal is to help students gain a broader understanding of the education field and the many roles and settings within it. While classroom teaching may be one of the first careers students associate with education, the field includes a variety of career paths. Through the microinternship, students will be able to explore those possibilities, connect with educators locally and beyond their own school community, and learn more about careers in education.
For Lorie, partnerships like these begin with listening to what schools need.
WESC works to connect member schools with resources, opportunities, and organizations that can help move their goals forward. When schools, industry, and community partners work together, students gain meaningful experiences, schools build connections, and industry develops relationships with future talent. Trust, communication, and a shared commitment to students and communities help make those partnerships work.
Giving Students the Exploration She Wishes She Had
Lorie’s commitment to career exploration is closely connected to her own journey.
After attending Indiana University Southeast for two years, she decided to work full-time while figuring out the direction she wanted to take. During her time in the private sector, she found herself educating and supporting others. That experience sparked her interest in education and eventually brought her back to Indiana University Southeast, where she completed her undergraduate degree in elementary education. She later earned her master’s degree from Grand Canyon University.
Her own experience now informs the work she does at WESC. Through Work-Based Learning, VR career exploration, and other opportunities, Lorie helps schools give students access to the career exploration and real-world experiences she wishes she had when she was in school.
She believes meaningful career exploration starts early and gives students opportunities to learn about careers they may not have considered. Classroom speakers and other experiences can introduce those possibilities, while seeing the work happening in real-world settings and participating in hands-on experiences gives students opportunities to test their interests, ask questions, and better understand whether a career path fits them.
Looking Ahead
Lorie would like to see career exploration become even more accessible to students in the middle grades, particularly through the WESC lending library. She also hopes to see increased industry engagement through microinternships and partnerships with schools to develop School-Based Enterprises.
These sustained connections with industry professionals can give students meaningful experiences while creating opportunities to earn Work-Based Learning hours toward their diploma seals.
Outside of work, Lorie enjoys reading, spending quality time with her family, and traveling to the beach whenever she can. These are some of her favorite ways to relax, recharge, and make memories with family and friends.
