Project, Goals, and Intended Outcomes

During my summer experience with the Idaho Veterans Chamber of Commerce, my project focused on interviewing local businesses and employers to better understand their experiences hiring veterans. I asked businesses a variety of questions about their hiring practices, including whether they interview veterans differently, how they view military training and experience, and what skills or qualifications they look for when considering a candidate who may not have a college degree but has extensive training and experience from military service.

The goal of the project was to better understand the needs of local businesses and identify how military skills, training, and experience are viewed in the civilian workforce. I wanted to learn whether employers recognize the value of skills gained through military service and whether there are challenges for veterans when trying to communicate their military experience in a way that civilian employers understand.

What I Accomplished at the Host Site

During my time at the Idaho Veterans Chamber of Commerce, I interviewed several businesses and gathered information about their hiring processes and perspectives on veteran employees. These conversations allowed me to hear directly from employers about what they need from potential employees and how they evaluate candidates with different types of education and work experience.

Through these interviews, I gained a better understanding of the importance of transferable skills. Military service can provide individuals with training in leadership, teamwork, communication, problem-solving, responsibility, time management, and working under pressure. However, I also learned that these skills may not always be immediately obvious to a civilian employer if they are not clearly communicated on a resume or during an interview.

Impact on My Career Knowledge and Teaching Style

This experience helped me understand the importance of recognizing that people bring different strengths, experiences, and forms of knowledge to the table. As a first-grade teacher, this is something I can apply directly to my classroom. Just as employers need to look beyond a college degree to recognize the skills a veteran has gained through military service, teachers need to look beyond traditional academic measures to recognize the unique strengths and experiences each student brings to the classroom.

The experience also reinforced for me the importance of teaching students how to communicate, problem-solve, work as part of a team, and recognize their own strengths. These skills are valuable not only for academic success but also for future careers and life experiences.

Most importantly, my summer experience helped me see the connection between education and the workforce from a different perspective. It reminded me that the skills we begin developing in students at a very young age—responsibility, perseverance, communication, collaboration, and confidence—can become important strengths throughout their education, careers, and lives. I hope to bring this broader perspective into my first-grade classroom by creating opportunities for students to recognize their strengths, appreciate the strengths of others, and understand that there are many different paths to success.