Career EdVantage

10/08/2026

What an incredible milestone to celebrate! 🎉

Career EdVantage was honored to join PALFINGER in celebrating 100 years of manufacturing excellence and a remarkable legacy of innovation, dedication, and community impact.

We are deeply grateful for our partnership with PALFINGER and for the invitation to be part of such a meaningful celebration. Partnerships like these are essential to our mission of connecting students with real-world career opportunities and building a strong, skilled workforce for generations to come.

Congratulations to the entire PALFINGER team on 100 years of excellence! Thank you for your continued investment in our community, your commitment to workforce development, and your partnership in helping shape the future of our region.

Here's to honoring the past, celebrating the present, and building the workforce of tomorrow, together!

09/27/2026

09/27/2026

What a night! ❤️

CEV Day 2026 was an incredible celebration of our students, our communities, and the people who believe in what’s possible when we invest in the future.

Thank you to everyone who joined us, cheered on our students, shared in their stories, and continues to stand behind Career EdVantage. We are so grateful for this work and the opportunity to keep transforming workforce and revitalizing communities.

What a way to celebrate CEV Day! 🎉

09/23/2026

🌟 CAREER COACH SPOTLIGHT: JAN! 🌟

We’re celebrating 3 YEARS of Jan with Career EdVantage! 🎉💙

💬 Favorite part of working with students:
Jan gets excited watching her students discover new things, try new opportunities, and achieve their goals! 🎓✨ And this year, she’s especially excited for the new challenges students bring her—because she learns something new from them every time!

☕ Go-to drink: Iced black coffee… REAL strong! 💪☕
🍫 Favorite snack: Chocolate, fruit candy, salty snacks… basically ALL the snacks! 😂
🌮 One food she could eat forever: Tacos! But Jan has a plan: “Can I pick tacos and just fill them with different things each day?”

Honestly, Jan… yes. Yes, you can. 🌮🌮🌮

👀 Something students might be surprised to learn:
Before becoming a Career Coach, Jan went to cosmetology school and was a hairstylist for 10 YEARS! 💇‍♀️✨ Talk about a career journey!

⚡ JAN'S THIS OR THAT ⚡

☕ Coffee AND 🥤 Soda — why choose?!
🌅 Early bird > 🌙 Night owl
🌮 Tacos > 🍕 Pizza
📖 Book > 🎬 Movie
🏔️ Mountains > 🏖️ Beach
🐱 Cats > 🐶 Dogs
📒 Paper planner > 📱 Digital calendar

From hairstyling to career coaching, Jan knows a thing or two about helping people discover what’s next! 💙 We’re so grateful for the relationships she builds with students and the excitement she brings to helping them reach their goals.

Give Jan a BIG CEV shoutout! 👏🎉

09/14/2026

🏆⛳ CAREER COACH SPOTLIGHT: BEN! ⛳🏆

We’re kicking off Ben’s 5th academic year with Career EdVantage! 🎉💙

Ben's favorite part of working with students:
Watching students go from “I have NO idea what I want to do” to having an actual plan! 🎯🙌

That moment when the pieces start coming together and a student can see where they’re headed? That’s what it’s all about. 💙

What he’s excited about this school year:
Getting even more students connected to real-world career experiences and opportunities! 🚀👷‍♀️💼 The goal? Helping students move from talking about careers to actually experiencing them.

🏆 Something students might be surprised to learn:
Ben was the Iowa State University Intramural Putt-Putt Champion! ⛳😂
Yes, you read that correctly. CHAMPION. We expect a trophy to be prominently displayed at CEV headquarters immediately.

🌴 SUMMER HIGHLIGHT:
Spending a week with his family in Florida! ☀️🏖️

🍿 Favorite snacks: Popcorn OR Sour Patch Kids Watermelon
☕ Go-to drinks: Coffee OR fountain Mr. Pibb
🥓 One food he could eat forever: BLTs
📺 Currently watching: Ted Lasso

⚡ BEN'S THIS OR THAT ⚡

☕ Coffee > 🥤 Soda
🌙 Night owl > 🌅 Early bird
🍕 Pizza > 🌮 Tacos
🎬 MOVIE. ALWAYS MOVIE. > 📖 Book 😂
🐶 Dogs > 🐱 Cats
📒 Paper planner — NO DIGITAL. EVER. > 📱 Digital calendar

Five years of helping students find direction, discover opportunities, and turn “I don’t know” into “Here’s my plan.” 💙

We’re so lucky to have Ben on the Career EdVantage team!

Give Ben a BIG CEV shoutout! 👏🎉

09/11/2026

🌟 CAREER COACH SPOTLIGHT! 🌟

Taylor has been amazing at CEV for 3 YEARS now! 🎉💙

Taylor's favorite part of working with students:
Building relationships together and watching students succeed! 💙🎓 There’s nothing better than seeing those relationships turn into confidence, growth, and real accomplishments.

What he is excited about this school year:
Getting the opportunity to coach business students! 💼📈 We can’t wait to see the connections, conversations, and career opportunities that come from it!

SUMMER HIGHLIGHT:
Getting MARRIED! 🥂💙🎉 Definitely a summer worth celebrating!

And now for the fun facts… 👀

Something students might be surprised to learn:
Taylor played hockey growing up! 🏒

☕ Go-to drink: Coffee
🍿 Favorite snack: Funyuns
🌯 One food they could eat forever: Chipotle 🌯🔥

⚡ THIS OR THAT ⚡

☕ Coffee > 🥤 Soda
🌅 Early bird > 🌙 Night owl
🎬 Movie > 📖 Book
🌮 Tacos > 🍕 Pizza
🐱 CATS. ABSOLUTELY CATS. > 🐶 Dogs 😂
📒 Paper planner > 📱 Digital calendar

Three years of building relationships, supporting students, and celebrating success, and now a new adventure coaching business students! 💼💙

We’re so grateful to have Taylor on the Career EdVantage team!

Give them a BIG CEV shoutout! 👏🎉

09/09/2026

🌟 CAREER COACH SPOTLIGHT: KINSEY! 🌟

Kinsey has been with CEV for 2 YEARS! 🎉💙

Kinsey's favorite part of working with students:
Hearing about ALL their activities! 🎉🏐🎭🎶📚 From sports and clubs to jobs, hobbies, and everything in between, Kinsey loves getting to know the whole student—not just the career plan!

What she’s most excited about this school year:
Watching this group of seniors take their career plans and turn them into REAL steps! 🚀🙌 There’s nothing better than seeing students move from “What do I want to do?” to “Here’s what I’m going to do next!”

And now for the part that might make you do a double take… 👀

🪂 Kinsey has been SKYDIVING!
🦈 AND SWAM WITH SHARKS!
We’re starting to think “Career Coach” may actually be her second job. 😂

☕ Go-to drink: Iced coffee 🧊☕
🍫 Favorite snack: Peanut M&Ms
🥣 One food she could eat forever: Rice bowls

⚡ KINSEY'S THIS OR THAT ⚡

☕ Coffee > 🥤 Soda
🌙 Night owl > 🌅 Early bird
🌮 Tacos > 🍕 Pizza
🎬 Movie > 📖 Book
🐶 Dogs > 🐱 Cats
📒📱 Both! — Paper planner AND digital calendar

We’re so happy to have Kinsey on the Career EdVantage team! 💙 Her enthusiasm for students, their interests, and their futures makes her such an important part of helping students turn big dreams into real opportunities.

Give Kinsey a BIG CEV shoutout! 👏🎉

09/07/2026

🌟 CAREER COACH SPOTLIGHT: CHRIS! 🌟

Chris has been crushing it at Career EdVantage for five years! 🎉💙

Favorite part of working with students:
Their ENERGY! ⚡🙌 And with CEV students bringing plenty of it, Chris definitely stays on his toes! 😂

What Chris most excited about this school year:
Seeing SO many students participate in concurrent enrollment! 📚🚀 We love watching students take advantage of opportunities that help them get a jumpstart on their future.

🌏 Dream vacation: New Zealand 🇳🇿✈️
🍌 Favorite snack: Peanut butter & banana
🍕 One food he could eat forever: NYC pizza! 🍕🗽

And because we need to know the important stuff…

⚡ CHRIS'S THIS OR THAT ⚡

☕ Coffee > 🥤 Soda
🌅 Early bird AND 🌙 night owl — why choose?! 😂
🍕 Pizza > 🌮 Tacos
📖 Book > 🎬 Movie
🐶 Dogs > 🐱 Cats — specifically Oscar! 🐾❤️
📒 Paper planner > 📱 Digital calendar

Five years of Chris means five years of bringing energy, encouragement, and a whole lot of enthusiasm to Career EdVantage! 💙 We’re so glad he’s part of the CEV team!

Help us give Chris a BIG CEV shoutout! 👏🎉

09/04/2026

🌟 CAREER COACH SPOTLIGHT: RACHEL! 🌟

Career EdVantage has been blessed with Rachel for 2 YEARS now! 🎉💙

Rachel's favorite part of working with students:
Rachel loves building relationships with students and watching them flourish and grow—from high school all the way into their careers. 🌱🎓 She says helping students succeed is what she loves most—and we think that says a lot about the kind of Career Coach she is! 💙

What she’s excited about this school year:
Rachel is ready to jump in with her students and school community to bring career experiences to students in grades 9–12! 🙌 She’s especially excited to connect students with career networks, opportunities, and experiences that help them see what’s possible for their futures. 🚀

🪂 Something students might be surprised to learn:
Rachel has been SKYDIVING! 😳🪂 Talk about taking the leap!

✈️ SUMMER HIGHLIGHTS:
Traveling to Arizona AND Florida! 🌵☀️🏝️

🍿 Favorite snacks: Cheez-Its OR chips & salsa
🥤 Go-to drink: Diet Coke with LOTS of ice 🧊
🍕 One food she could eat forever: Buffalo chicken pizza 🤤

⚡ RACHEL'S THIS OR THAT ⚡

🥤 Soda > ☕ Coffee
🌙 Night owl > 🌅 Early bird
🍕 Pizza > 🌮 Tacos
🎬 Movie > 📖 Book
🐶 Dogs > 🐱 Cats
📱 Digital calendar > 📒 Paper planner

We’re so grateful to have Rachel on the Career EdVantage team! 💙 Her passion for relationships, career exploration, and helping students see their potential is exactly what CEV is all about.

Help us give Rachel a BIG CEV shoutout! 👏🎉

09/02/2026

🧙‍♂️☕ CAREER COACH SPOTLIGHT: JON! ☕🧙‍♂️

We’re shining the spotlight on Jon, who is celebrating 1.5 years with Career EdVantage! 🎉💙

Favorite part of working with students:
“Watching them grow and succeed!” 🌱🎓

And now for something his students might be surprised to learn…
🦻Jon probably should be wearing a hearing aid!
So if you’re talking to Jon… SPEAK UP! 😂📢

☕ Go-to drinks: Coffee + energy drinks
🍫 Favorite snacks: Twix or Kit Kat
🎬 Currently watching: The Lord of the Rings 🧙‍♂️💍
🍽️ One food he could eat forever: Great Wall!
📣 Shoutout to Rose! 🥡

⚡ JON'S THIS OR THAT ⚡

☕ Coffee > 🥤 Soda
🌙 Night owl > 🌅 Early bird
🍕 Pizza > 🌮 Tacos
🎬 Movie > 📖 Book
🐶 Dogs > 🐱 Cats
📱 Digital calendar > 📒 Paper planner

Whether he’s cheering students on as they grow, grabbing another cup of coffee, or getting lost in Middle-earth, we’re glad Jon is part of the Career EdVantage team! 💙

Give Jon a big CEV shoutout! 👏🎉

😂