EXP Insider: Career EXPedition and GPS Your Future® Return
EXP Signature Programs Return to In-person starting with Career EXPedition: Cal Maritime
After a two-year pandemic hiatus, EXP’s EXPedition is back! We are so excited to bring back our signature career discovery programming that has made such an impact on our students: the week-long Career EXPedition: Cal Maritime.
EXP began taking students from Wilmington to California State University, Maritime Academy (Cal Maritime) in 2005 with the goal to expose 11th graders from Phineas Banning High School’s Global Safety & Security (GSS) Academy to career pathways in maritime and enrich the academy’s public safety-focused curriculum. Supported by industry volunteers and EXP staff, students spent a week staying in a college dormitory and completing courses and training to earn industry-recognized Personal Survival and Basic Marine Firefighting certificates.
This annual program made a great impression on our students, so much so that Banning High School has become the #1 feeder high school to Cal Maritime! Today, EXP boasts over 40 “Keelhaulers” among our alumni, many of whom are working in great maritime careers, both shoreside and at sea.
Thanks to the sponsorship of Port of Los Angeles, this year’s EXPedition was expanded to all EXP-supported schools, resulting in a class of 23 juniors and seniors from four harbor-area high schools: Phineas Banning, San Pedro, Carson Senior, and Rancho Dominguez Preparatory.
“This trip helped me understand my career path more,” said Elvis, a senior at Banning High School. “I’ve always wanted to become a firefighter, and here I get to experience what’s it like to be one and learn about the different paths I could take at Cal Maritime to become one.”
“The students had so much fun learning about Cal Maritime and the majors and hands-on training available,” said Jaime Medina, Banning High School Career Technical Education teacher, who chaperoned the trip. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime trip for these students to be away from home and experience what college life is like.”
EXP Program Managers Sandra Rascon and Daisy Boeckmann are already planning for summer 2023. We could not have organized such an impactful program without our partners at Cal Maritime and Port of Los Angeles and the support from friends like you!
See you next summer, future Keelhaulers!
EXP Day of Service and Social Hour: Saturday, July 30
According to our recent survey, 57% of EXP alumni would like to see more volunteer and community service opportunities. The newly formed EXP Alumni and Young Adult Committee hears the message loud and clear!
Please join EXP Alumni and Young Adult Committee at Belmont Pier for a beach cleanup and a post-event social hour at Legends on Saturday, July 30.
Beach Cleanup at Belmont Pier: 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. at Belmont Pier (35 39th Place, Long Beach, CA 90803). We will provide a pier parking coupon code. Dress in layers. Wear comfortable shoes. Bring a hat, sunblock, and water. The collection bags and gloves are provided by the California Coastal Commission through the Parks, Recreation, and Marine Department of the City of Long Beach.
Social Hour at Legends: 12:30 p.m. – 2 p.m. at Legends Restaurant and Sports Bar (5236 2nd Street, Long Beach, 90803) in the Sky Box on the 2nd floor for appetizers and good company.
For more information, please contact Sandra Rascon, Program Manager, at sandra@expfuture.org.
EXP Partner Spotlight: Marathon Petroleum Corporation
Marathon and EXP’s partnership go back to our earliest days, when they were Tesoro, and we were International Trade Education Programs, Inc. (ITEP).
A Keeper of the Flame honoree in 2013, Marathon has provided EXP with more than just generous community investment. The hands-on learning experiences through job shadow days and their Summer Youth Program expands our students’ horizons, and their passionate volunteers continue to make a difference in our students’ lives as guest speakers and mentors.
"Marathon staff are always excited to work with EXP students, whether it’s in our summer youth program, participating in a career day or speaking directly to students about their own career paths," said Olga Chavez, Sr. ESG & Stakeholder Engagement Representative, Marathon Petroleum. "From the conference room to the refinery floor, Marathon is honored to have a long term, meaningful partnership with EXP".
Marathon’s generosity enables us to develop and sustain our programs, especially with our signature career discovery events like GPS Your Future®, Women in STEM Career Day, and Fuel Your Future Young Adults Summer Boot Camp.
We are looking forward to continuing our work with Marathon to prepare our students for a better life!
GPS Your Future®: Friday, September 30
We are back in person for the 2022 GPS Your Future®! The annual career discovery event will return on Friday, September 30, on campus at CSU Dominguez Hills.
GPS Your Future is an all-day career discovery event where companies from across Southern California showcase their high-growth industries and introduce career paths to high school students through an exhibit hall and breakout speaker sessions.
We are expecting 500 students from 11 EXP-supported high schools, as well as guest schools, to attend this year’s in-person event. You can contribute to the success of our signature event through sponsorship!
For more information about sponsorship opportunities and see the list of sponsors to date, check out the event page or email Jessica Ureña, Director of Development, at jessica@expfuture.org.
Volunteers Wanted: Summer Bridge Program
We are still looking for some more volunteer presentation judges for the last session of the Summer Bridge Program!
The final available session is July 25 - August 5. Your time commitment would be 1-2 hours. All you have to do is attend the student presentations, use our rubric for scoring, and offer constructive feedback. That’s it!
Please email Devyn Dupree, Program Coordinator, at devyn@expfuture.org today to sign up and for more details!