News Release: Emporia High Senior Serves as President of JAG-K Student Organization

Emporia High School senior Kameron Welch returned to school this fall with a big responsibility before him.

Welch is president of the Jobs for America’s Graduates-Kansas (JAG-K) Career Association, an affiliation of participants in the program statewide. Welch was elected to the position by his peers at JAG-K’s Career Development Conference at Fort Hays State University in March.

Welch attended EagleU, a leadership conference at Baker University, to prepare himself to lead the statewide association. He returned to school this fall excited to embrace the opportunity.

“The main thing I want to be as a leader is accessible,” Welch said. “If someone comes to me with an idea, I want to make sure that all JAG-K students are being heard and seen.”

The purpose of the JAG-K Career Association is to help members explore career pathways, to assess the opportunities and appropriateness of pursuing further education, to connect members with representatives of their chosen pathway, to develop their knowledge and skills, to secure employment in a job, and to demonstrate their ability to enter and advance with the employer.

“Kameron will be a great president because of his strong leadership skills and commitment to listening to diverse perspectives,” said Emporia High School JAG-K Career Specialist Ramsey Siebert. “He can unite people and drive positive change which will create an amazing environment. 

“Additionally, being president will provide Kameron with invaluable experience in decision-making and problem-solving, equipping him to make a lasting impact.”

In Welch’s role as president, he will conduct meetings at gatherings of students from across the state. With that role can come some pressure as students debate and vote on issues.

“I like to think that one of my skills is doing well under pressure,” Welch said. “When people are coming at me with questions, I take it not as hostility, but that they are passionate about the program and have questions or ideas and I really want to receive that input.”

Welch joined JAG-K his sophomore year in high school. The positive impact it had on him personally motivated him to run for the statewide office last spring.

“I had no idea what to expect,” Welch said. “I quickly made friends in the program, and I was surprised how beneficial it was. It has led to a lot of opportunities to learn and grow. And with those opportunities, I am able to help make JAG-K a better experience for others.”

JAG-K programs are found in 75 schools (in 48 school districts) across the state. The program expects to serve about 6,200 students this school year.

JAG-K is a multi-year, in-school program for students in grades 6-12 that offers tools to successfully transition students into post-secondary school, the military, or directly into the workforce with marketable skills. Participants in the program face multiple barriers to success that their JAG-K Career Specialist helps them overcome through a nationally-accredited, evidence-based model.

The 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization is a state affiliate of the national JAG program network which operates in 38 different states and territories. It is primarily funded through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families block grant to the State of Kansas administered by the Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF). In addition to school districts and DCF, JAG-K partners with the Kansas Department of Education. Other JAG-K funding sources include ADM, AT&T, EagleU, Goldstein Charitable Trust, the JB and Anne Hodgdon Foundation, Honeywell, John Deere, the Kansas Chamber of Commerce, Kansas Gas Service, the Kansas Insurance Department, the Office of the Kansas State Bank Commissioner, United Way of Kaw Valley, United Way of the Plains, U.S. Bank and Walmart.

To learn more about JAG-K, visit  www.jagkansas.org , ‘Jobs for America’s Graduates-Kansas’ on Facebook, and on Twitter at @JAG_Kansas.

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