Brandon Leuallen, The Business Times

About 1,150 high school juniors from across Mesa County Valley School District 51 descended on the campus of Colorado Mesa University on Jan. 15 for Workforce Development Day, taking part in career-focused breakout sessions designed to help students explore post-graduation pathways.

The annual event brought students together for a day of hands-on workshops, presentations, and conversations with educators, workforce professionals and local employers. Students rotated through breakout sessions covering entrepreneurship, construction and skilled trades, financial literacy, résumé building and career planning.

The event was designed to expose students to a wide range of career options, including college, technical education, apprenticeships and direct entry into the workforce. Hosting the event on CMU’s campus also gave students firsthand exposure to a postsecondary environment while connecting classroom learning to real-world opportunities.

Local innovation and business development

An entrepreneurship-focused breakout session introduced students to local business development resources and real-world examples of turning ideas into sustainable companies. 

The session was hosted by Mike Ritter, director of economic development at the Business Incubator Center of Western Colorado.

“We’re a nonprofit, business-development organization in our community to build up the entrepreneurial ecosystem for Grand Junction, Mesa County, the Western Slope and statewide initiatives,” Ritter told students. “We operate through five different pillars of entrepreneurship.”

Those pillars include business-development education, access to capital through loan funding, grants and incentives, physical space for early-stage manufacturing and services, and innovation labs focused on prototyping and product development.

“One of the best ways to pursue entrepreneurship is to find a problem and have a passion,” Ritter said. “If you have a passion for something and you can solve a problem and make that thing easier for others, that’s a great way that many people start their businesses.”

Ritter also spoke about the importance of economic diversification and how building a mix of industries helps stabilize the local economy during downturns in any single sector.

Students then heard from Kenneth Riskey, owner of E Bricks Outlet, who described turning a personal frustration into a global business centered on reused LEGO parts.

“I published a list online to see if anybody else had that idea,” Riskey said. “Fast forward 25 years later, we’re still doing the same thing. We ship orders every day to almost every corner of the planet.”

Another presenter, Rysa Ferris, owner of Ferris Mushrooms, told students her consulting-based business model focuses on mushroom cultivation, sustainability and zero-waste production.

Ferris described designing mushroom-growing systems that repurpose local waste streams while supplying fresh food to restaurants and retailers.

“This was a business with zero waste,” Ferris said. “Everything that we generated could be reused or made into something else, and that was of paramount importance to me.

“We were able to collect the food source for free and then create a byproduct in the end that is needed by farmers. I feel that’s the most ethical way you can begin a business.”

Riskey and Ferris encouraged students to view entrepreneurship as a process rather than a single idea.

Construction, skilled trades emphasize early pathways

A construction-focused breakout session hosted by Careers in Construction, a workforce program run through the Housing & Building Association of Western Colorado, introduced students to careers in construction, design and architecture, with an emphasis on starting early and building skills while still in high school.

The session was presented by Karrie Kuklish, head of business development at Fixture Studio and committee chair of Careers in Construction of Western Colorado.

Kuklish spoke about the satisfaction of seeing projects move from concept to completion.

“There’s something really powerful about being able to see something that you drew on paper, and then you walk past the building and you’re like, ‘I designed that,’” she told students. “It’s kind of a cool feeling.”

Kuklish told students that years later, she can still look back on buildings she worked on early in her career and feel pride knowing she helped bring them from concept to reality.

She highlighted real-world examples of student work transitioning into active community projects, including a former District 51 student whose architectural design was selected for use by Habitat for Humanity.

“She graduated two years ago, and Habitat actually used one of her full plans and designs,” Kuklish said. “Her house plans are actually being built in the community right now.”

Students asked what daily life looks like in construction-related careers, prompting Kuklish to describe job-site schedules and industry expectations.

“A typical job on a job site, you’re going to start early,” she said. “You’re loading your truck, making sure you have your tools, making sure you have the equipment you need for the day.”

She contrasted job-site work with design-based roles.

“As designers, we’re working with different people every single day,” Kuklish said. “We’re going over plans, changing things, calling contractors, making sure things are lined up. There isn’t anything that’s just typical about it. There’s something different every single day.”

A key theme of the session was encouraging students to explore construction pathways early, including apprenticeships that can begin before graduation.

Students were made aware they can begin apprenticeships while still in high school, allowing them to reach journeyman status sooner after graduation than if they wait.

Kuklish encouraged students to enroll in construction courses offered through their high schools and to work with career and technical education coordinators to pursue job-shadowing opportunities.

“The biggest thing is taking initiative and being coachable,” she said. “That’s exactly what employers are looking for.”

She also highlighted concurrent enrollment opportunities through Colorado Mesa University, including drafting and architecture programs that allow students to earn certificates while still in high school.

“You can come out of high school with certificates and hit the ground running in an apprenticeship immediately after graduation,” Kuklish said.