Monica McDonald – WDC Extern

“My undergrad was marketing and human resource management, and I was in sales for 10 years before I became a teacher. It felt like I was able to bring my full self to the table.”

The bulk of her project was researching and mapping career progression guides for different fields. She used a combination of state resources, expert support, and AI-powered research to create a comprehensive resource for students and educators.

“I learned a lot because I was like, oh my gosh, if you want to be a millwright, where do you have to go to school? What does that look like? Like with plumbing, for example, they have to become a journeyman first. It’s the same with electricians. But with welding, you can go into an apprenticeship, or you can go to a vocational program and go straight into a job.”

Monica spent about 150 of her 200 externship hours developing a 48-page resource that maps entry-level, intermediate, and advanced progressions across 24 different career fields. This project serves as the foundation for a framework that will help students visually navigate different career paths based on their interests and goals.

As a middle school teacher, Monica also spotted a gap in the program’s materials. They were mostly designed for high schoolers. She helped adapt the Idaho LAUNCH counselor and parent playbooks to better reach middle school audiences and their families.

“My belief is that middle schoolers just don’t understand all the potential opportunities. Starting career exploration in high school is way too late.”

Back in her classroom, Monica plans to integrate what she’s learned directly into daily routines. Simple examples include showing short career exploration videos during attendance and emphasizing the connection of soft/durable skills between classroom behavior and workplace expectations.

“I’ve been talking about workplace expectations, but it really occurred to me this year about tying classroom expectations to workplace expectations, like hey, you can’t be late to work, you can’t be not showing up.”

For host sites, Monica believes externships are a way to strengthen connections between industry and education. They offer the opportunity to provide meaningful work for the employer while giving educators a chance to bring real-world insight back to the classroom. She and Sherawn plan to continue collaborating monthly to build on the work started this summer. Externs bring a wide range of professional skills and perspectives, and they’re ready to contribute from day one. As she concluded, “I always say there’s not just one path.”