Day Five: The University of North Texas & Graduation

Can’t believe the week has come to an end already!  But today was jam-packed with activity. Students teamed up with professors from the UNT Design Center to come up with solutions to different design problems.  

Afterward it was time to celebrate with an awards ceremony and cupcakes!  Cupcakes were donated by Whole Foods – many thanks to Carla Chavez for making our ending ceremony more festive.

Day Four: The Dallas Zoo

Today was wild!  The entire group headed to the Dallas Zoo to learn about botany, animal science and other zoo-related careers.  In addition to checking out the new Giants of the Savanna exhibit, students took part in a scavenger hunt and got to meet some of the animals.

"Today we went to the zoo. It was really fun! I learned a lot of new things like the different jobs at the zoo, what the people with a certain job have to do, and also how many years of college you have to go to get that job. I’m happy I came because all this information will definitely help me become a vet."     - Guadalupe Medina

Day Three: Fort Worth Organizations

Goodbye Dallas … hello Cowtown!  Boarding the buses this morning, campers headed out to Fort Worth to explore careers in the arts and the art of science. The day began with groups touring the city’s famed cultural district, including stops at Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, the Kimbell Art Museum and the Amon Carter Museum.  After lunch, one group stuck to the arts theme with a behind-the-scenes look at Bass Hall and careers in the performing arts. 

"Today was a really great day. We went to the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. I learned about some of the sculptures. We learned about 'Book with Wings,' 'Curved Red on Blue,' '20 Different Marlins' and more. It was too bad that we had to leave, but at least we went to see the cattle drive.  After lunch we went to the Bass Hall and learned that it was built in May of 1998 and that the box seat can cost up to $2,000,000. They’re trying to keep the Bass Hall alive for about 300 years."     - Romeo Navarro

At the UNT Health Sciences Center, future doctors, nurses and physicians assistants converged at the “Gross Anatomy Lab” to learn about careers in the medical sciences—and for a chance to examine real human bones!  

"Today I went to the Kimbell Art Museum and the UNT Health Science Center. The paintings were so vivid and told their own stories. I never touched real human bones until now. That’s not something a lot of people can say."     - Xuhaxi Matus

At the Fort Worth Stockyards, animal sciences were on the agenda as the group got up-close and personal with the residents, aka the cattle, and took part in the daily cattle round-up.



Day Two: Dallas Organizations

Today, everyone loaded up on the buses and headed out on their first set of field trips.  A group of about 50 students couldn’t keep their heads of out of the clouds as they explored aviation careers with American Airlines at DFW Airport.  In addition to learning about the various career options—which range from pilots and customer service reps to technical writers and firefighters and everything in between—students got up-close-and-personal with a Boeing 777, which is the largest airplane in the fleet.  They also went to the top of the control tower and toured the airport—which employs 60,000 people!—aboard the Skylink.

"Today I went to American Airlines. This was a great but scary experience. We first got our boarding tickets. Then we got on the biggest plane at the airport. I was scared of airplanes because of 9/11, but now I’m not scared."     - Corieana Davis

FOX 4 and CBS 11 came out to cover the story:

Across town, another group was busy envisioning the Dallas of the future during a tour of the CityDesign Studio.  Working alongside urban planners and architects, students learned the importance of urban design to city building, and had the chance to create their own 3-D city in the halls of City Hall.

"Today was very fun. We went to City Hall which I have never been to and learned all about the different jobs that are needed to have a successful society. They all seemed like jobs I would love, so I might have a career in that. My favorite part was when we decided where the buildings would go…"     - Eli Jefferson

Speaking of design, at South Side on Lamar students interested in fashion and entrepreneurial ventures teamed up with local business owners Abi Ferrin, Karen Manning of Millennium 2000 Gallery, Arthur Porter of Dallas Designing Dreams and Marion Marshall of AbsolutelyBlooming! to learn about fashion and other creative entrepreneurial ventures. The group toured the many artist studios at South Side and created their own custom leather works.  Special thanks to Jeff West of Jeff West Consulting who treated the group to a Texas Caribbean lunch.  



Day One: Exploring Professions & College Readiness

About 160 middle school students showed up for the first day of camp at the Universities Center in downtown Dallas.  Day 1 was all about college and careers.  UNT's Emerald Eagle Scholars gave participants the low-down on what college is really like, and what it takes to get there.  The rest of the day was spent cruising careers—learning about different career fields, what kind of education is required, potential salaries and more.  Campers also had the chance to start exploring their career tracks in fashion, music, the arts and technology through hands-on workshops with creative professionals.

"First day of camp and so far so good. I met several new friends. I thought it would be weird talking to other students from different schools we didn’t know, but it was interesting learning new things from them and probably they thought the same about us…" - Alejandra Vega

"It’s amazing how it’s only the first day and I already can’t wait to get to college. College can make your life easier; it lets you know what your life can really be. It shows you responsibility without your mom and dad. It could be something I would struggle with." - Kiera O’Quin

The Alchemist
Getting most kids to read is hard enough—but during spring break?  Well, that might be impossible….except, apparently, when it’s Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist. One of the Brazilian author’s best-known novels on finding ones destiny and life purpose, reading The Alchemist was the starting point to getting campers to think about what they envision for their own futures.  Students discussed the book with peers and mentors throughout the week…and some have gone on to form book clubs on their campuses.

If you’ve read The Alchemist, what are some of your favorite parts?

Career Connections Spring Break Camp: The Big Picture

The Thriving Minds Career Connections Spring Break camp was designed to introduce middle school students to “behind the scenes” careers in the creative industries – fine arts, film, music/video, photography, museums professions, aviation, entrepreneurship, retail/marketing, etc.

From March 14-18, 18 “career coaches” guided student thinking and career direction, working alongside more than 150 middle schoolers during hands-on activities and facilitating conversations with students about what was next in their career exploration.

To provide this unique spring break experience, Thriving Minds collaborated with Dallas ISD’s College and Career Readiness Department, the University of North Texas and public and private businesses in Dallas and Fort Worth.

Whereas typical career fairs offer students “booth cruising,” Career Connections focused on starting students on the pathways to making their own connections to careers that interested them, through discovery, exploration and empowering them to set their own destinies.

We hope this blog allows you a glimpse into the experiences of these students through photos, video and their own words.