Discover Students
The DISCOVER Partnership is a unique program that addresses one of the most important issues facing rural communities everywhere: keeping young people in the area.
Spearheaded by the Community Education Center of Elk & Cameron Counties, The DISCOVER Partnership is dedicated to making students aware of the many outstanding education and career opportunities right here in Elk and Cameron Counties.
Bringing Business and Education Together
The DISCOVER Partnership brings the area’s business and education sectors together to help young people see that an outstanding education, a rewarding career, and a bright future await them right here – there’s no need to relocate.
The Partnership creates and coordinates innovative programs and activities for students of all ages, ranging from company tours and job shadowing to an annual Job Fair that connects high school students with local employers interested in hiring immediately or in the near future.
With a wide variety of programs targeting students of all ages, the DISCOVER Partnership is making young people aware that they don’t need to leave the area. An excellent education, interesting and financially rewarding jobs, and an outstanding future are all waiting for them right here where they grew up.
Helping Young People See A Bright Future Right Here At Home
The DISCOVER Partnership was formed in 2013, funded in part by the Pennsylvania Department of Community & Economic Development’s Discovered in PA, Developed in PA grant program. Elk and Cameron Counties had been steadily losing population as young people relocated in search of opportunity, and decades of negative population growth was creating a critical threat to the social and economic well-being of the area. The DISCOVER Partnership was created to help young people understand that they can have the education, career, and lifestyle they want right here in Elk and Cameron Counties.
One of the Partnership’s most important missions is addressing negative misconceptions about the area. The Partnership is strongly focused on debunking the myths that local jobs are scarce or ill-paying, or that you must have a four-year degree in order to succeed. Many of the Partnership’s programs are geared to showing students the wide range of opportunities available locally, with or without a degree.
The programs, which can be as simple as elementary school visits from local professionals or as complex and involved as job shadowing, show the students real-world examples of exciting and rewarding careers in local businesses, many of which don’t require a four-year degree.
The DISCOVER Partnership and CEC are planning future programs to make young people about the career opportunities available in Elk and Cameron Counties and form connections between students, local companies and communities. For more information about the DISCOVER Partnership, visit their website or contact the CEC at 814-781-3437.
