![[Image Description: Two MCC members are walking away on a rocky trail, carrying their packs, surrounded by burnt orange bushes. Through the haze in the background, there are a multitude of mountains, overlapping one another.]](https://cdn.firespring.com/images/7ba12407-5e3a-41c1-b4b4-f00aac9d37a1.jpg)
“Going into senior year, I honestly had no idea where I was going,” said one MCC high-school participant. But after a summer serving on a youth crew, that uncertainty shifted into purpose and possibility, “I met a lot of experts in many different fields. I did fulfilling work and was able to explore new environments and expand my horizons.”
For many young people, that uncertainty about the future is all too familiar as they face anxiety around choosing a career path without much guidance or real-world experience. The Broken Marketplace Study, conducted by The Schultz Family Foundation and HarrisX, found that 40% of young people feel the systems meant to prepare them for work are failing them. So how can we help them find direction and confidence?
One powerful solution is work-based learning, something that MCC has done for decades. “Work-based learning is learning about work, at work,” said MCC’s Director of Youth Programs, Ashley Mazzullo. “With MCC, kids are learning about resilience, communication, dependability, being punctual, participating in a team environment… they’re learning the basic foundational skills for employability. They get to see what the experience is like and test it out.”
Our Helena Youth Corps (HYC) model, piloted with the support of the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest, is an excellent example of this concept in action. For eight weeks this summer, MCC AmeriCorps crews of local Helena high schoolers rotated through districts in the forest, working on a wide variety of projects - from campground maintenance to installing signage to rehabbing forest service cabins - and gaining career skills along the way.
HYC crew member Hannah reflected, “Through MCC, I was able to get first-hand experience in field work and what it means to be a part of the Forest Service. Now I have found out how much more I love being in the field, and the people I worked with helped me find a program that aligned with my interests.”
Jasmine, another HYC crew member, wants to be a therapist. She says she can apply her MCC experience to her future career path: “This job helped me meet people I wouldn’t normally interact with, which led me to see different perspectives in life and work. The Helena Youth Corps has helped open doors for me.”
HYC crew member Zander also feels more confident in his future direction, “My life as a whole has a ton of new insight after this job. It changed both my school and my future job path. There was a lot of inspiration that occurred for me.”
Rory Glueckert, the Recreation Program Manager for the forest, conceived the idea for the HYC. He appreciated the strong partnership with MCC over the years and wanted to create more opportunities for Helena-area youth. Since then, this program has been a great success, helping the forest complete essential projects while empowering youth to develop valuable career skills. “We can get many labor-intensive projects completed across the forest, including trail, cabin, and campground maintenance that may not otherwise be done,” Rory explained, “But we also want our youth crew to have life skills that are transferable to almost any job. We want each participant to be successful after they complete the program, wherever they end up.”
The success of the Helena Youth Corps shows what’s possible when young people are given real opportunities to learn by doing. MCC hopes to bring this model to other Montana communities, connecting even more teens to meaningful experiences and mentorship. Because when young people discover their potential through service, they don’t just build trails, they build direction for their lives.
"As a Youth Expedition Leader, I guided youth through a wide variety of careers within the park service and helped them understand the diverse opportunities available. Our project partner facilitated career-building activities that let us dive deeper into niche positions, giving youth a chance to explore paths they might not have considered before, like a park service EMT, wildland firefighter, helicopter mechanic, botanist, biologist, and many more. Watching how fascinated the youth were made me feel like I was facilitating a positive learning environment for them to grow into their future careers."
- Peri Tinholt, Southern Branch Youth Expedition Leader
