By Merritt Frey, Executive Director

Sticking with school is really hard for many students in Mali — they face pressure to drop out to help support their families, to take care of siblings, or even to get married. That’s why Mali Rising tries to provide inspiring opportunities for students to see why their education matters and how it can change their lives. This month, we piloted a new idea to inspire students to stay in school — a Career Day.

On a recent Saturday, we invited 105 7th and 8th graders from Jade and Gabe Mellor Middle School to participate in the Career Day. Every single seat was full! Kids were separated into groups of 35, and Mali Rising staff (with the help of the school’s teachers) walked the kids through the basics of imagining their dream career and creating a plan to get there. Kids we interviewed wanted to be everything from a fire-fighter to a doctor to a teacher.

Then, five volunteers from different careers spoke with the students about their own path to success and how education helped them get where they are today. The speakers included a nurse, a teacher, an electrician, a tailor, and a farmer. The students asked many, many questions and had lively discussions about their various career options.

We evaluated the Career Day by interviewing a sample of the participants before and after the event. Overall, there was a 31% improvement in the students’ ability to identify personal traits that made them a good fit for their chosen career. There was also a 27% improvement in their ability to name 3 action steps they would need to do in order to achieve the selected career. Lastly, the students’ ability to name other career options improved by 16%.

Students appeared to love the Career Day, rating it a 3.7 on a 4-point scale. Students now have a wider range of careers to contemplate and have great ideas for action steps to take to achieve their goals. The school principal and teachers also felt the event was perfect for inspiring the students to stay in school and connect their education to a better future. We are calling THAT a success and with your support we hope to host many more Career Days in the future!