News Release: JAG-K Students Participate in Kansas Highway Patrol Cadet Academy

Summer presents life-changing opportunities to Jobs for America’s Graduates-Kansas (JAG-K) students. Whether it’s through camps, job shadowing, work opportunities, etc., Career Specialists help students line up applications, interviews, enrollment or whatever else they need to obtain those experiences.

Two JAG-K students from Concordia High School took advantage of an opportunity offered by the Kansas Highway Patrol (KHP) to learn more about a career field that interests him: law enforcement.

Jagger Johnson and Hunter Nielander attended the week-long Cadet Law Enforcement Academy at the KHP Training Academy in Salina. The academy is designed to equip high school students with knowledge regarding training and responsibilities of all law enforcement officials.

“My JAG-K career specialist knew I was interested in law enforcement, so she recommended that I check out the cadet academy,” said Johnson, who serves as president of the JAG-K student-led Career Association at Concordia High School.

“We got a sneak peak of what a cadet would go through,” Johnson said. “We learned a lot. I learned that it’s a lot of hard work to actually become a state trooper. It takes a lot of discipline, and you’ve got to really want it to get through it.”

Johnson and Nielander were among 31 students who participated in the five-day-long academy.

Nielander said the students learned highway patrol safety and defensive tactical strategies. They practiced traffic stops and other scenarios in a virtual simulator. They received weapons training and flew in a Highway Patrol plane over the Salina area.

While applicants to become KHP troopers must be 21 years of age, the agency uses the academy to encourage high school students to consider it as a career path. KHP also showcases other jobs within the agency, ranging from automotive maintenance to information technology staff.

“The academy showed us the job opportunities with KHP,” Nielander said. “It helped me see a lot clearer what I want to do after high school. It was a fun opportunity to learn a lot of the basics of what you do as a trooper.”

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.

Kansas’ 114 JAG-K programs serve approximately 6,200 students in 48 school districts across the state. JAG-K Career Specialists help students graduate and learn career, leadership, and life skills by executing a nationally-accredited, evidence-based model. Participants must meet criteria to be selected for the program and have potential to overcome various barriers to post-secondary success. Last year, JAG-K had 805 high school graduates.

The 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization is a state affiliate of the national JAG program network which operates in 36 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 , or ‘Jobs for America’s Graduates-Kansas’ on Facebook and LinkedIn.

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