• 2 saved career(s)
• 4 saved major(s)

Once you have some possible careers in mind, you can start looking into the education and training you'll need after high school. Looking at different potential pathways is an important factor in thinking about careers: are you interested in completing the required education or training for this career? In this activity you’ll explore different majors associated with 2 saved careers in Xello.

1. For 2 saved careers read the Education & training section and review the list of Related majors on the career profile

2. Save at least 2 Majors for each career (4 total) that you think are a good fit.

3. Reflect on why you chose each Major. In the text box below share:

   • What 2 saved careers did you explore the education and training for?

   • What 4 majors did you save? Why are each of these programs a good fit for you?

   • How did the postsecondary options workshop you attended impact your choice of saved careers and saved majors?

   • Research at least one community service and one extracurricular activity you could take part in related to each of your 4 saved majors.

When you’ve shared your reflections for each program, click Turn in when complete.

• Course planner
• 2 saved career(s)

You’re using Xello's Course planner to create a 4-year course plan. It’s important that the courses you selected fulfill the graduation requirements and align to your career and post-secondary education goals.

1. Check out the Planning your courses in Xello video (also available in Spanish) before you create or edit your plan.

2. Remember to also track completion of your college and career readiness indicators (CCRI). You'll find those under Quick links after you sign in.

3. You will need at least 3 of these indicators by the time you graduate. Each year, you will come back to your Xello course plan to re-evaluate your course selections and modify based on your updated goals.

4. Once you have created or edited your plan and tracked your CCRI indicators, provide your answers to the following questions in the text box below:

   • Who did you meet with to review your plan?

   • What motivates you to work hard in school?

   • Which careers are you most interested in? How well do these careers match up with the lifestyle you'd like?

   • What college and career readiness indicator (CCRI) did you complete? How will this indicator help you get closer to achieving your career goals?

Click Turn in when complete

Cost of postsecondary school

9

3 saved majors

Having a plan to pay for your education after high school is important. Part of this plan is knowing how much it will cost. Tuition is a big part of this. Let’s look at some tuition and other cost information in Xello!

1. Head to your Saved Options in Xello. Select Majors to view the programs you have saved. Select one you’re most interested in. Scroll down through the major profile to view Schools that offer this major in-state. From here you can see a list of schools that offer this major in your State. Select a school you might be interested in to view the School profile. On the profile, find the menu below the school name and click on Costs. Here you can learn about tuition fees and other details. Make a note of the school name and amounts under the Estimated costs breakdown section. Be sure the dropdown options meet your preferences (e.g. Location should be set to In-state).
2. Let’s also compare costs at a school outside of your home state. Repeat the same process starting at your Saved Options. Then select Majors, find the same program and scroll to Schools that offer this major. This time, select an out-of-state school you might be interested in. Click on Costs to learn about tuition fees and other details. Make a note of the school name, the state, and amounts under the Estimated costs breakdown section. Be sure the Location dropdown option is set to Out-of-state.
3. Answer the following questions in the text box below:
   • Which schools did you select and what are the Estimated costs breakdowns listed for each school?
   • What factors do you think impact tuition costs? (Hint: In-state versus out-of-state college, private versus public college, 2-year program versus 4-year program). Use the information you found in Xello to support your answer.

Click Turn in when complete.

Knowing how you’ll pay for more school or training after high school and the financial aid options available is important. Attending a financial aid presentation was a great step. Remember, if you still have questions, the Federal student aid website can be a helpful resource. Check out their checklists for students, parents, or guardians, too. Access the Illinois student assistance commission (ISAC) student portal, as well. Their Toolbox provides tools to help with college preparation, financial aid, and more.

• In the text box below, provide your reflections about the financial aid presentation you attended using the following questions as a guide.

  • What were 3 areas covered in the presentation?

  • Do you or the trusted adults you attended with have questions about financial aid that were not addressed? If so, what are they? Where could you go to have your questions answered?

Click Turn In when complete

• Matchmaker
• 1 Favorite cluster(s)

As part of this lesson, complete the Matchmaker quiz and favorite a career cluster.

After completing the first phase of Matchmaker, you’ll not only be assigned a strength of match for every career in the database, but also suggested career clusters. To help you identify a career area of interest, take some time to learn more about your suggested career clusters:

1. Access Explore Careers and click on Filters. Beside Career clusters you’ll see those that are suggested for you. You can also expand the list to Show more clusters. Select and apply one suggested cluster at a time to explore your career matches in this area.

2. Head over to your About Me section to identify your Favorite Clusters. Here you can read more about each cluster before you select at least one career area of interest.

3. Return to this lesson to reflect on your career area of interest.

In the text box below, express your career areas of interest and reflect on what aspects of this career cluster appeal to you and why you believe it’s a good fit.

That's it! Click Turn In when complete

An information interview is like a behind-the-scenes tour of someone’s career. It’s a conversation with someone to learn more about what they do and how they got there. In this assignment you will come up with 3 people to ask for information interviews. Complete the following reflections and actions for 3 saved careers:

1. Identify someone you could ask for an information interview for any 3 of your saved careers. Starting with friends and family, do you already know people who work in any of your saved careers?

2. If nobody comes to mind or you can’t think of 3 people, identify a few people you could share 3 of your saved careers with and ask if they know anyone working in any of these careers. Ask them a few questions about their career, too! You never know what might spark a new interest!

3. To help prepare you for your information interview, check out the article 5 Steps on how to conduct informational interviews from LinkedIn written by Eva Chan, Career Coach.

4. In the text box below, list 5 questions you would like to ask one of the people you have identified.

Click Turn in when complete

• Course planner
• 2 saved career(s)

You’re using Xello's Course planner to create a 4-year course plan. It’s important that the courses you selected fulfill the graduation requirements and align to your career and post-secondary education goals.

1. Check out the Planning your courses in Xello video (also available in Spanish) before you create or edit your plan.

2. Remember to also track completion of your college and career readiness indicators (CCRI). You'll find those under Quick links after you sign in.

3. You will need at least 3 of these indicators by the time you graduate. Each year, you will come back to your Xello course plan to re-evaluate your course selections and modify based on your updated goals.

4. Once you have created or edited your plan and tracked your CCRI indicators, provide your answers to the following questions in the text box below:

   • Who did you meet with to review your plan?

   • What motivates you to work hard in school?

   • Which careers are you most interested in? How well do these careers match up with the lifestyle you'd like?

   • What college and career readiness indicator (CCRI) did you complete? How will this indicator help you get closer to achieving your career goals?

Click Turn in when complete

Knowing how you’ll pay for more school or training after high school and the financial aid options available is important. Attending a financial aid presentation was a great step. Remember, if you still have questions, the Federal student aid website can be a helpful resource. Check out their checklists for students, parents, or guardians, too. Access the Illinois student assistance commission (ISAC) student portal, as well. Their Toolbox provides tools to help with college preparation, financial aid, and more.

• In the text box below, provide your reflections about the financial aid presentation you attended using the following questions as a guide.

  • What were 3 areas covered in the presentation?

  • Do you or the trusted adults you attended with have questions about financial aid that were not addressed? If so, what are they? Where could you go to have your questions answered?

Click Turn In when complete

11

Resume builder (contact details and education sections)

Before you start using Xello’s Resume builder to draft a resume, watch the Building your resume with Xello video (also available in Spanish) and check out these 2 articles on resume.io for some great resume writing tips:

• How to write a high school student resume, written by Susan Shor, Content writer & editor
• Resume formats, written by Rolf Bax, Content specialist 

Once you’ve updated your resume in Xello, you can choose to download it as a formatted PDF or the Rich text option if you’d like to change section headings or design the layout yourself.

Finally, attach your resume here and click Turn in.

Now that you’ve engaged in an internship opportunity related to the career pathway or completed an experience within the Work Based Learning Continuum, add your recent Work experience to your Experiences timeline found in the About me section of Xello.

You’re using Xello to track completion of your College and career readiness indicators (CCRI). These are an important part of preparing for what’s to come after high school. You’ll need to complete at least 3 of these indicators by the time you graduate.

1. Review the Career development experience indicator requirements in Xello and mark the indicator as complete if your recent experience meets the requirement.
2. Reflect on the following questions in the text box provided:
   • Before the experience: How did you prepare for this experience?
   • During the experience: What did you do? What was your role and what were your responsibilities?
   • After the experience: How might this experience influence your high school course selections, your choice of experience next year, or after high school plan?
3. Upload evidence of your experience and your Professional skills assessment to this lesson.

Click Turn in when complete

None

Check out Xello's College planning knowledge hub to learn about the ACT and SAT. Answer the following questions in the text box below:

• Which pathway interests you the most? What are the ACT and SAT exams used for?
• How would you find out which test to take?
• Do you plan to take or have you taken either test? Why or why not?

Click Turn in when complete.

• Course planner
• 2 saved career(s)

You’re using Xello's Course planner to create a 4-year course plan. It’s important that the courses you selected fulfill the graduation requirements and align to your career and post-secondary education goals.

1. Check out the Planning your courses in Xello video (also available in Spanish) before you create or edit your plan.

2. Remember to also track completion of your college and career readiness indicators (CCRI). You'll find those under Quick links after you sign in.

3. You will need at least 3 of these indicators by the time you graduate. Each year, you will come back to your Xello course plan to re-evaluate your course selections and modify based on your updated goals.

4. Once you have created or edited your plan and tracked your CCRI indicators, provide your answers to the following questions in the text box below:

   • Who did you meet with to review your plan?

   • What motivates you to work hard in school?

   • Which careers are you most interested in? How well do these careers match up with the lifestyle you'd like?

   • What college and career readiness indicator (CCRI) did you complete? How will this indicator help you get closer to achieving your career goals?

Click Turn in when complete

None

Explore Xello's College planning knowledge hub.

Answer the following questions in the text box below:

• Do you plan to apply for FAFSA?
• What is the most appropriate type of financial aid for you? Grants, work study, or loans?
• Do you plan to apply for a Scholarship? Learn more here about Scholarships! If yes, which Scholarships do you think are most suitable for you?

Click Turn in when complete.

• Course planner
• 3 saved career(s)
• 1 Experience(s)

As part of your postsecondary and career planning, you’ve created your 4-year course plan, and have been viewing career, school, and major information in Xello. You have also been busy exploring career and postsecondary options in other ways. You may have attended a career fair, campus tour, program information session, financial aid presentation, workshop or something else. If you’re looking to keep adding to your experiences, remember to check out the Illinois student assistance commission (ISAC) student portal. Their Toolbox highlights additional resources and events to help with college preparation, financial aid, and more.

• In the text box below, describe the experiences outside of Xello that you’ve participated in as part of your postsecondary and career planning. Provide your reflections using the following questions as a guide.
  • What event/workshop/presentation etc. did you attend?
  • How did attending impact your postsecondary or career planning?

Click Turn in when complete

11 or 12

1 saved goal(s)

Identify an academic goal you would like to achieve by the end of this school year.

• Once you have a goal in mind, it’s time to set a goal in Xello.
• You’ll need to enter a title for your goal, choose a category, add a timeframe, and select one task for your to-do list. See the example below:
  • Title: Achieve a B in Math
  • Category: Academic
  • Timeframe: Short-term
  • Task: Attend extra help sessions twice a week over lunch break.
• Once you have set your goal in Xello, answer the following questions in the text box below:
  • What goal have you set for yourself?
  • What is your first task and when will you complete it?

Once completed, click Turn in.

You will create a portfolio to highlight your team-based challenges through information, artifacts, and resources you’ve gathered and created for this project.

Directions:

• On your student dashboard, click View Portfolios, then click Add Portfolio. You can also view sample portfolios for ideas on how to set up your portfolio.
• You’ll need to enter a title and a description for your portfolio. Your first section will be an introduction to your portfolio, so add a section, give your Step 1 a title, and select Text Entry for Step 2. See the example below:
  • Title: Team-based challenges
  • Description: An overview of my team based challenges
  • Section Step 1: Introduction
  • Section Step 2: Overview of team based challenges
• Once you have completed the introduction section of your portfolio, add a second and third section. You will choose the topics of these sections. See the ideas below to help you get started:
  • Related videos
  • Articles used for research
  • Related Xello activities if applicable
• Once you have created your portfolio in Xello, answer the following question in the text box below:
  • How could a portfolio displaying an overview of my team-based challenges help me in the future?

Any additional information

Click Turn in when complete

None

Our district's goal is that every student who leaves high school has a postsecondary plan and a means to carry out that plan. This falls under the 4E's - Enrollment, Enlistment, Employment, or Exploration. Simply put, a plan to enroll in a 2-year/4-year/technical/vocational college, enlist in any military branch, accept an apprenticeship/internship/externship or part/full-time employment as you enter directly into the workforce, or commit to one of our vetted exploration organizations.

In order for us to be able to celebrate you in our upcoming Decision Day for whatever choice you made, we need to know what that choice is. Please provide confirmation of one of the choices below:

• Enrollment (2-year/4-year/technical/vocational college) - provide a copy of your acceptance letter or email
  • What was the outcome of 2 other college applications you submitted? What led to your choice of college?
• Enlistment - provide a copy of your enlistment contract or a video/picture of you being sworn in
  • Why do you believe enlistment is a good choice for you?
• Employment - provide a copy of your employment contract, time card, id badge, or paycheck
  • What 3 skills are you most looking forward to developing at work?
• Exploration - provide a copy of a letter of commitment
  • What next steps are you most looking forward to?

Select Attach files below to upload confirmation of your postsecondary plan.

Click Turn in when complete.

None

The Free application for federal student aid (FAFSA) is a form you complete to determine your eligibility for federal student aid.

1. Watch the How to fill out the FAFSA form video and review the Creating an account section of the article for help to complete your FAFSA form.
2. After watching the video, answer the following questions in the text box below:
   • What is a FSA ID and what is it used for?
   • Why is it a good idea to create an account before starting to complete the FAFSA form?

Click Turn in when complete.

You’re using Xello to track completion of your College and career readiness indicators (CCRI). These are an important part of preparing for what’s to come after high school. You’ll need to complete at least 3 of these indicators by the time you graduate.

1. Review the Career development experience indicator requirements in Xello and mark the indicator as complete if your recent experience meets the requirement.
2. In the text box below include the name of the Career cluster that interested you most, as well as 2 careers to further explore in Xello related to this cluster.
3. Upload your industry credential(s) to this lesson.

Click Turn in when complete

You’re using Xello to track completion of your College and career readiness indicators (CCRI). These are an important part of preparing for what’s to come after high school. You’ll need to complete at least 3 of these indicators by the time you graduate.

Directions:

1. Review the Military service or an ASVAB score of 31 or higher indicator requirements in Xello and mark the indicator as complete.
2. Check out the Pathway to military video in Xello. In the text box below share what you think is the most interesting way that you might enter the military. What do you think your next steps might be?
3. Upload evidence to demonstrate one of the following:
   • Commitment to serving in the Armed Services and ASVAB score
   • Split training enlistment
   • Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps participation

Click Turn in when complete

• 3 saved career(s)
• Course planner

You’re using Xello to track completion of your College and career readiness indicators (CCRI). These are an important part of preparing for what’s to come after high school. You’ll need to complete at least 3 of these indicators by the time you graduate.

Review the Dual credit career pathway course (college credit earned) indicator requirement in Xello and mark the indicator as complete.

Upload evidence of course completion and college credit earned to this lesson. This could include a PDF printout of your Xello Course Planner.

Click Turn in when complete

You’re using Xello to track completion of your College and career readiness indicators (CCRI). These are an important part of preparing for what’s to come after high school. You’ll need to complete at least 3 of these indicators by the time you graduate.

Review the Complete a program of study to be a CTE Concentrator indicator requirements in Xello and mark the indicator as complete.

Upload evidence to support your CTE Concentrator program completion to this lesson. This could include a PDF printout of your Xello Course Planner.

Click Turn in when complete

You’re using Xello to track completion of your College and career readiness indicators (CCRI). These are an important part of preparing for what’s to come after high school. You’ll need to complete at least 3 of these indicators by the time you graduate.

1. Review the Attaining and maintaining consistent employment for a minimum 12 months indicator requirements in Xello and mark the indicator as complete.
2. Add your relevant Work experience to your Experiences timeline found in the About me section of Xello.
3. In the text box below list 2-3 skills you enjoyed using the most during your work experience. If you haven’t already added these to your Skills section in Xello, do that now.
4. Upload evidence to demonstrate consistent employment totaling 480 hours verified by pay stubs, timesheets, or a signed letter from an adult supervisor that includes the number of hours worked.

Click Turn in when complete.

You’re using Xello to track completion of your College and career readiness indicators (CCRI). These are an important part of preparing for what’s to come after high school. You’ll need to complete at least 3 of these indicators by the time you graduate.

1. Review the Consecutive summer employment indicator requirements in Xello and mark the indicator as complete
2. Add your relevant Work experience to your Experiences timeline found in the About me section of Xello.
3. In the text box below list 2-3 skills you enjoyed using the most during your work experience. If you haven’t already added these to your Skills section in Xello, do that now.
4. Upload evidence to demonstrate consecutive summer employment totalling 120 hours per summer over 2 summers in a row. Summer employment may be verified by pay stubs, timesheets, or a signed letter from an adult supervisor that includes the number of hours worked.

Click Turn in when complete

• 1 Experience(s)
• 25 Volunteer hour(s)

You’re using Xello to track completion of your College and career readiness indicators (CCRI). These are an important part of preparing for what’s to come after high school. You’ll need to complete at least 3 of these indicators by the time you graduate.

1. Review the 25 hours of community service indicator requirements in Xello and mark the indicator as complete
2. Add your relevant Volunteer experience to your Experiences timeline found in the About me section of Xello.
3. In the text box below list 2-3 skills you enjoyed using the most during your community service experience. If you haven’t already added these to your Skills section in Xello, do that now.
4. Upload evidence to demonstrate 25 hours of community service. You should get written verification by an adult, non-relative supervisor from the organization where you completed the volunteer hours. This must include a signature and contact information. It must describe the services you completed and the number of hours served.

Click Turn in when complete

You’re using Xello to track completion of your College and career readiness indicators (CCRI). These are an important part of preparing for what’s to come after high school. You’ll need to complete at least 3 of these indicators by the time you graduate.

1. Review the Two or more organized co-curricular activities indicator requirements in Xello and mark the indicator as complete.
2. Add your co-curricular activities to your Interests section in Xello.
3. Add your co-curricular activities to your Interests section in Xello.
4. In the text box below list 2-3 skills you enjoyed using the most during your co-curricular experiences. If you haven’t already added these to your Skills section in Xello, do that now.
5. Upload evidence to support completion of indicator requirements to this lesson.

Any additional information

Click Turn in when complete