News Release: JAG-K Students Place in National Competition in Indianapolis

Seventeen students representing Kansas placed in national competitions at the Jobs for America’s Graduates (JAG) National Career Development Conference (NCDC) in Indianapolis last week.

JAG National hosted the NCDC April 24-26, with a contingent from each state affiliate attending for training and competition.

This year, 30 students from Jobs for America’s Graduates-Kansas (JAG-K) programs traveled to Indianapolis to participate in NCDC. The national event brings together the top performers from competitions held in each of the 32 states with JAG programs. The seven competition categories are Financial Literacy, Creative Decision Making, Prepared Speaking, Career Preparation, Project-Based Learning, Business Plan, and Employability Skills.

The top finisher from Kansas this year was Sauni Kishpaugh (pictured), a junior from Kiowa County High School, who placed third in the Prepared Speaking competition.

“My time at the NCDC was truly transformative,” Kishpaugh said. “The JAG program has inspired me to believe in my potential and strive to become even more. I am grateful for the experiences that have shaped me into who I am today.”

JAG-K individuals who placed in the top 10 in their events were:

• Kenton Grauerholz, Great Bend High School, 7 ^th Place, Financial Literacy

• Chris Tomlinson, Shawnee Mission North High School, 8 ^th Place, Financial Literacy

• Analicia Aquino, Shawnee Mission North High School, 10 ^th Place, Prepared Speaking

• Elijah Quiring, Augusta High School, 10 ^th Place, Employability Skills

JAG-K teams who placed in the top 10 in their events were:

• Kiowa County High School (Hannah Greenleaf, Silas Hawkins, Aly Taylor), 5 ^th Place, Creative Decision Making

• Holcomb High School (Ashlynn Bradley, Riley Miller, Shalynn Sizemore), 6 ^th Place, Project-Based Learning

• HD Karns-Junction City High School (Shantee Dowd, Jaylah Buffington, Morgan Barrett), 9 ^th Place, Project-Based Learning

• Junction City High School (Jaden Exantus, Lyric Pope, Trent Herrington), 10 ^th Place, Creative Decision Making

Three Kansas programs – Augusta High School, Innovations Academy-Junction City, and Kiowa County High School – received national awards for Outstanding Digital Chapter Notebooks.

In addition to the competitions, the Kansas students participated in a college and career expo and attended workshops. They attended an event at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and toured the Indianapolis Zoo and Lucas Oil Stadium. Noah Maldonado, Junction City High School, and Kalli Peterson, Eudora High School, participated in the JAG National Career Association business meeting and served as voting delegates to elect national officers for the next year.

“JAG-K was well represented by some outstanding students at the second annual National Career Development Conference,” said JAG-K President and CEO Chuck Knapp. “These young people continue to impress and inspire, and they are a consistent reminder that our evidence-based model works. There is not another program that is as comprehensive in the competencies taught, personal skills learned, and life changing results achieved.” 

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 6,000 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.

The 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization is a state affiliate of the national JAG program network which operates in 32 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, Barton Community College, EagleU, Goldstein Charitable Trust, Independence Community College, the JB and Anne Hodgdon Foundation, Honeywell, John Deere, Johnson County Community College, the Kansas Chamber of Commerce, Kansas Gas Service, the Kansas Insurance Department, Magellan Financial, Mark One Electric, the Office of the Kansas State Bank Commissioner, United Way of Kaw Valley, United Way of the Plains, U.S. Bank, Walmart and Washburn Tech.

To learn more about JAG-K, visit  www.jagkansas.org , or ‘Jobs for America’s Graduates-Kansas’ on Facebook, X and LinkedIn.

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