JAG keeps expanding as 400 South Dakota students, 14 districts getting lifeline of advice, guidance
Mar. 5—MITCHELL — When Melina Shields joined the Jobs for America's Graduates program at Lyman High School, she was too shy to walk up to someone, shake their hand and introduce herself.
Now a junior at the school and in her third year with the program, she has her eyes set on a future career.
"Politics," Shields told the Mitchell Republic. "I want to study political science and business."
That's a considerable leap for someone whose mother had to beg her to say hello when meeting new people. She has little trouble with that now, thanks at least in part to the JAG program, which was holding its annual Career Development Conference on Tuesday at Dakota Wesleyan University in Mitchell.
Shields, serving as the first student state president of the South Dakota branch, was one of about 180 students from 13 JAG programs around the state in attendance. It's the third time JAG has held such a state conference, and the second hosted by DWU after the first was held at Mitchell Technical College.
JAG is a program supervised by the South Dakota Department of Education that is proven to help students persist through graduation. It is a state-based, national non-profit organization dedicated to supporting young people of great promise who may have barriers in front of them, making it difficult to succeed in school and beyond, according to the program website.
The program is specifically designed to help those students overcome those barriers and challenges and to help them graduate as well as find a job following high school.
"(The program) is for leadership and career exploration. Our name is what we do. We help you graduate and find employment. Those are our number one goals, " said Beth Schneider, state director for the JAG program. "Our students usually have significant barriers to graduation. There are many reasons a student doesn't graduate from high school, but when they feel connected — that's what helps them stay in school."
That connection is what the students were on hand to experience Tuesday. They were there to network and mingle with fellow JAG participants, but also to take part in several friendly competitions based around points of focus in the program. They included activities in employability skills, financial literacy, prepared speaking, project-based learning and middle school career exploration.
The events are based on core JAG skills that form the backbone of the program, Schneider said.
The program is now in its 15th year and has expanded from a handful of participating schools in the state to 14 districts, with over 400 students active in the organization. The growth of the program shows both the urgent need to help keep students from falling through the cracks as well as the dedication of believers in the program to raise awareness for its benefits and to lobby for funding to boost growth at the district level.
Gov. Kristi Noem included the JAG program in her budget this year, and Schneider said the group had just completed its first-ever round of fundraising in December, surpassing their $75,000 goal. Those funds are forwarded to a number of fronts, including paying for trips to conferences like the one Tuesday as well as boosting support at the local district level, where teachers often do double duty as JAG specialists.
But the real success of the program can be seen in students like Shields, Schneider said. Improving confidence, especially in students who may face struggles at home, is just one of the crucial character skills the program can bring out in students.
"I did not like it at first. I wasn't a fan of it. It was new. I was a freshman. I was scared. I was the only girl freshman in the class of juniors and seniors. But after getting into it and dipping my toes in a little bit, I absolutely loved it, " Shields said. "In JAG, I've gotten my confidence."
Getting involved meant embracing her "JAG family" at Lyman High School, where she learned skills like how to craft a resume, how to fill out a job application and how to greet people and introduce herself.
It was all new to Shields, who said the wide variety of lessons, delivered with a sympathetic ear by JAG specialists, kept things interesting. That variety helped her keep her attention on those lessons, she said.
"It's not like you're born with it. You have to learn it," Shields said. "You go to school and do your work and go home. It's a cycle. It gets boring and tiring and people get burned out and that's how you feel. With JAG, there are so many things going on every day, so you (keep coming back) because you want to know what you're learning today. Are we doing to learn about resumes or learn how to do our taxes? It's exciting!"
JAG program specialists who guide the local district programs keep tabs on their students for a year after they leave high school, whether they graduate or not. They continue to provide a lifeline for advice and guidance as the students enter the next phase of their life.
That extends to the program alumni volunteers who were also on hand Tuesday.
Payton Mora, a 2020 graduate of Wagner High School, was rushing from place to place at the conference, greeting high school students and pointing them in the right direction for their activities. She was working closely with Schneider and other organizers.
She was taking a break for the day from her full-time job with the South Dakota Army National Guard, which she joined as a junior in high school and has since turned into a career. She said her time in the JAG program helped her with a number of challenges.
"I grew up in a tough home. I didn't have a mother in my life and a single dad who worked all the time. He wasn't going to help me write a paper for my scholarships. He was busy and it wasn't his cup of tea, and that's fine," Mora said. "So (JAG) helped me with all that stuff, and it ultimately helped me decide to go into the military. I joined the Guard in high school at age 17."
Mora still keeps in contact with her JAG teacher even four years after she moved past the program. That's how close a relationship students can forge with the program itself, and how far they can carry its lessons.
Mora said she is an example of how life-changing JAG can be.
"I don't think I'd have half the tools I have in my back pocket (without JAG)," Mora said.
Schneider said it's been encouraging to see the program grow in its reach over the past 15 years, but there is more to do. She said there is a need for the program in far more school districts than just the 14 currently taking part. That means there is more outreach to do, more time to dedicate to expansion and always more funding to secure. The ultimate goal is a JAG program in every district in the state, she said.
The more at-risk students that cross the stage to receive their diploma at graduation time means more students with a better chance of finding gainful employment or moving on to a technical school or four-year college.
"That's the long term goal — universal JAG. There is not a school district in the state that doesn't have students falling through the cracks," Schneider said.
She knows that where it's available, the program can make a difference.
Shields doubted she would be where she is today without JAG. Through her efforts with the program, she has grown and learned much, and she now easily greets people with a handshake and a confident attitude.
Over the years, even Gov. Kristi Noem has learned her name.
"Melina has faced some challenges in life, and she could have let that stop her from succeeding. But because of her own hard work — and the support of the JAG initiative — she is setting herself up for a lifetime of success and a bright, bright future," Noem said in her State of the State address in January.
Shields has one more year of high school, during which she plans to continue to spend time with her local JAG program. But after she completes her high school work and earns that diploma, she has her sights set on college.
And not just any college.
"Georgetown," Shields said with a smile. "I'm willing to take that leap and go for it."
