Pella High School completed their first Future Ready Conferences on November 13 and 16. The Future Ready Conferences are meant for students to have time to sit down with their parents and talk about what they want to do after high school. The discussion is facilitated by iLead teachers. The students must fill out a slideshow that has ways to explore possible careers they are interested in. Junior Sietje Beukelman found the conferences very helpful. 

“I found it very easy to communicate with my parents with the help of my iLead teacher,” said Beukelman. “ Also, it was an easy way to show my parents what I wanted to do after high school without the pressure of bringing it up at dinner.”

However, not all students found the Future Ready Conferences helpful. 

Senior Carson Leathers said, “I was annoyed that the school decided to start this extra program that didn’t benefit me the year before I left. I wish they would have just started with the freshmen.”

Leathers thought meeting with counselors would be more helpful because they directed him in the right direction for what he wanted to do in the future. He acknowledged that the conferences had some good points. “I think they are beneficial for kids that don’t have a plan after high school, but for a person that does have a plan they are a waste of time.”