Career Pathways Program Prepares Students for Life Beyond High School

For many high school students, the transition from graduation into the next phase of life – whether that be college, a career, or a curiosity – can be daunting. Connecting students to their purpose and helping them plan for their futures is at the heart of everything that we do at Project Success, and that has taken shape this school year through our Career Pathways programs.
One of our Career Pathways programs is offered to Minneapolis students through our Best Buy Teen Tech Center, located at our headquarters. The innovative 8-month STEAM career-building program is the first of its kind for Project Success with a simple yet powerful mission: to help students develop technical and durable skills, abilities and knowledge through coaching, mentorship, career awareness, team projects and paid summer internships.
Our Career Pathways program focuses on building “durable skills” with students that will serve them well in any environment – from the classroom into the world. Career Pathways Facilitator, Adriana Rimpel, led students in group sessions twice a week to help them build skills in communication, collaboration, critical thinking, time management, self-advocacy, and giving and receiving feedback. Developing these skills while students are still in high school is vital to help them navigate interpersonal relationships, challenges, and opportunities of all kinds.

Our Career Pathways program focuses on building “durable skills” with students that will serve them well in any environment – from the classroom into the world. Career Pathways Facilitator, Adriana Rimpel, led students in group sessions twice a week to help them build skills in communication, collaboration, critical thinking, time management, self-advocacy, and giving and receiving feedback. Developing these skills while students are still in high school is vital to help them navigate interpersonal relationships, challenges, and opportunities of all kinds.

The Career Pathways program goes beyond these durable skills by also focusing on hands-on technical experience. This year’s cohort of nine Minneapolis high school students partnered with a tech mentor from Project Invent – an organization that empowers young people to become innovators by inventing products that solve real-world problems – and Kulture Klub Collaborative (KKC) – an arts nonprofit serving youth experiencing homelessness – to create an invention to help solve one of KKC’s ongoing challenges. After meeting with the Program Manager of KKC to understand their needs, the students posed the question, how can we help support Kulture Klub Collaborative in connecting youth to build a sense of community?
With that question guiding the way, they developed the plan for a device they named “The Buddy Up System,” built using a micro:bit – a simple programmable computer with an LED screen, buttons, and sensors. They coded the device to randomly pair newcomers to KKC with more established youth, and prompt them with activities or reflective questions, encouraging meaningful interactions and a sense of belonging. Developing this device required students to collaborate, learn how to code, create prototypes, and think critically about user needs and human-centered design.

“”The biggest challenge we faced was the coding, but working together we were able to come up with solutions” – Student Participant
This experience culminated in four students traveling to San Francisco, California, to the Cloudflare Headquarters for “Demo Day,” where they were one of 15 Project Invent-led cohorts to present their inventions to a panel of judges including professionals in the fields of coding, engineering, and invention. The cohorts each had 10 minutes to explain the identified need, their invention, and answer questions about it. This opportunity helped students develop skills in public speaking, persuasive writing, marketing and visual presentations. We are proud to share that our cohort won the NeedFinder award for listening to the needs of their community partner around fostering community at their organization! The Project Success cohort then decided to donate a portion of their award money to Kulture Klub Collaborative which inspired Project Invent to match their donation.



The Career Pathways program expands beyond the classroom learnings of durable skills and device invention; it is also preparing students for life beyond high school in very tangible ways. The students participating in the program received quarterly stipends for their work, and those who met the program requirements – such as completing a resume -demonstrating growth in communication skills and proven dependability– are eligible for paid summer internships through Best Buy and Project Invent. Although the program ended in May, Adriana will continue to check in with students throughout the summer to ensure they are successful in their internships and have a plan for what is next.
These Pathway programs are launchpads for life: by combining hands-on technical training with essential durable skills, the program empowers and equips students to better navigate life after high school. Whether they pursue college, a career, or a curiosity, these students leave the program with confidence, experience, and the tools they need to create the future they want for themselves.