Ask a sharp math student at Weeki Wachee High School to solve a complex exponential equation, or a well-read one to explain how to analyze an author’s work, and the answers may come quickly.
Ask the same students what they plan to do after graduation, and you’re as likely as not to get a blank stare.
The school hopes to change that. Weeki Wachee High dedicated its new College and Career Hub last week, a space in the media center designed to help students sort through what comes after high school.
“If you ask any student what they want to do after high school, most will say they’re not sure — that there are so many possibilities that they don’t know,” said Ed Larosa, the school’s principal. “There’s college, a job, internships or the military; there are a lot of options.”
Guiding students through those options has long fallen to the school’s guidance counselors. The hub gives that work a dedicated home: a new website, computer workstations and other resources, along with regular seminars led by guests from colleges, businesses, government agencies and the military.
Larosa said the hub makes sense for students, particularly those still undecided about their futures, and frees counselors for the many other duties they juggle. He said he hopes it will “inspire other schools to follow suit.”
Mike Quarto, the school’s career and graduation coach, will run the hub.
“The (guidance) counselors have a lot going on, and this will help students find a path for when they leave Weeki Wachee High School,” Quarto said. “They’ll know what’s available to them.”
Larosa said the hub will rotate monthly themes. One month might focus on college, another on vocational education, with others devoted to jobs with local businesses or careers in the military.
“There’s a lot to explore, and this is dedicated just for that,” he said.
Students, teachers, sponsors and parents gathered in the second-floor media center for the dedication, which included a ribbon-cutting, a demonstration of the website, recognition of the program’s partners and a check presentation to help fund it. Guests also toured the hub, talked with those involved in its 15-month development and enjoyed refreshments.