JAG Club Spotlight

By Owen Somerville

Jobs for America’s Graduates, abbreviated as JAG, is a program implemented at BGHS that works to connect students to long-lasting careers after high school. Students take scheduled classes during the school day, and learn necessary skills to prepare them for the workplace. Throughout the year, JAG specialists bring in employers to expose students to potential job opportunities and career options locally. Due to the incredibly effective results displayed by JAG, the organization has proved to be a very useful tool for students entering the workforce, military, or collegiate program.

Jobs for America’s Graduates was established in 1980 as a nonprofit youth development program. It was co-founded by the governor of Delaware at the time, Pete DuPont, as well as Kenneth M. Smith, who remains active as the founder of JAG. Over the course of 40 years, JAG has worked with over 1.4 million students. With as wide a reach as it has, JAG has helped shape the next generation of the workforce, and provided an enormous number of opportunities over its decades of existence.

The JAG program at Bowling Green High School is not a standalone program. As described by Adam Whitt, the JAG organizer here at BGHS, “Our program at BGHS falls under the JAG KY umbrella, which falls under the JAG National umbrella. It is all one organization with national, state, regional, and school leaders.”

Here at Bowling Green High School, JAG is currently in its second year of existence. Students can sign up for the course as part of their class scheduling with their grade level counselor, and the course occupies a class period during the school day. Additionally, the class has a limited number of open spots, which allows “JAG Specialists” to develop a stronger connection with the students in the program. According to Whitt, student participation numbers in JAG are specifically outlined as, “no fewer than 45 and no more than 60 students as part of JAG.”

In terms of student success, the BGHS JAG program has seen inspiring results. Students participate in competitions on the local level, state level, and national level. These competitions are called career development competitions. This year, 17 Bowling Green High School students qualified for the state competition, and last year a group of students placed Top 5 at the National Career Development Conference. The most effective statistic of displaying student achievement, however, is the fact that each and every student who graduated from BGHS last year is currently either working or enrolled in a two to four-year college or university.

Students are regularly offered a number of job opportunities throughout their time in the program. On the national level, JAG is partnered with companies such as Toyota, Marzetti, and Kohl’s. During the year, the JAG organizer brings in employers of official JAG partner companies to broaden students’ knowledge of potential career paths.

In addition to these large-scale companies, the JAG program at BGHS also brings in representatives from local businesses.