by Kristin Brighton on April 28, 2022

HirePaths has had a whirlwind of a year filming our Cool Careers series of videos to introduce kids in grades 4-8 to in-demand Kansas careers. 

Now that we’ve finished filming our sixth episode (the season one finale), I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who helped turn this crazy idea into reality. To recap, season one includes:

CybersecurityEp. #1: Cybersecurity Analyst

Business: Foresite (Overland Park)
Thanks to Marc Brungardt and David McKee​

Drone PilotEp. #2: Drone Pilot

Business: Hamm Companies (Perry)
Thanks to Paul Johnson and Scott Anderson

PlumbingEp. #3: Plumber

Business: Tatro Pluming (Garden City)
Thanks to Kristina Lashmet, Justin Sanchez, Kelsey Hessman and Daniel Martin

Robotics and AutomationEp. #4: Robotics and Automation Engineer

Business: Textron Aviation (Wichita)
Thanks to Caroline Nichols, Darren Fair, Zach Jouppi, Stacy Hart, Emma Hoffman, Ellen Bonzo and Lydia Goering

Heavy Equipment EngineerEp. #5: Heavy Equipment Technician

Business: Foley Equipment (Wichita)
Thanks to Tommy Phelps, Matt Watkins and Cameron Pirtle

Cool Careers Video Episode 6 ThumbnailEp. #6: Electrical Engineer

Business: Garmin (Olathe)
Thanks to Marajan Tutu, Mikayla Minnick, Krista Klaus, Jen Pozzuolo, Laurie Minard, Jim Mazurek, Trish Goranflo and Carter Sanchez

And this series would be nowhere without our talented child hosts who worked so hard and were so willing to cheerfully do their lines “one more time,” as many times as I asked them to: Ivan, Dallas, Dylan, Deena, Kara and Kieran. Thank you for being a part of season one. We hope you had fun and learned a lot. I know we did!

But Wait…There’s More

None of this would have happened without ESSER II grant funds provided to us from the Kansas State Department of Education to help educate young people about technical and trade careers. We appreciate the trust and support of everyone at KSDE for believing in HirePaths and helping us expand our reach through Cool Careers videos and other projects. I’d like to especially thank Kansas State Commissioner of Education Dr. Randy Watson, Deputy Commissioner Brad Neuenswander, Stacy Smith, Denise Kahler, Natalie Clark and Helen Swanson for all they’ve done to help us grow HirePaths into an influential, statewide initiative.

I’d like to give a big thank you to our entire team at New Boston Creative Group (especially Erin, Lane, Nick, Maike, Shawn, Stan and Addie) and the team at digitalBrand Communications (Eric, Lonnie, Alex, Dre, Naythan) for helping us produce these six videos. From lighting to shooting to editing, you made everyone look great!

And lastly, thanks to my New Boston Creative Group co-owner Lisa for editing these scripts so the language was age-appropriate and easy for anyone to understand. As always, your editing polishes my writing!

Check out our behind-the-scenes fun!

What’s Coming Up Next Season?

If you know a child who loves to act, is curious and confident around adults, and would like to be considered as a host for a future episode, they can apply here.

If your business has a career that could be a potential topic for a future video, please email me. We’re booking locations for season two today for filming this summer and fall.

And if you’re a teacher who’d like to receive a monthly newsletter with the latest Cool Career video along with other career-focused classroom materials, sign up now.

To the parents, educators and friends who have been sharing these videos with the kids in their lives and their classrooms, thank you for helping young people explore their future possibilities. We look forward to the experiences next season will bring. We expect Episode #7 to debut in September 2022.

— Kristin Brighton, HirePaths.com