State Senate Majority Leader Inspires Students Following St. Cloud Business Roundtable

(KNSI) – Minnesota Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy and District 14 Senator Aric Putnam met with local students in the CareerONE program during her visit Thursday.

Career Solutions Executive Director Tammy Biery says for a student going through the CareerONE healthcare cohort, meeting a nurse who is one of the top politicians in the state like Murphy plants a seed for what their future could be.

“I think there’s a lot of vision casting going on. By being able to see someone who’s an elected official, that helps them see that, you know, there’s opportunity there and that they’re human, as well.”

CareerOne has three focuses. It helps improve math and reading performance, reversing the summer brain drain. It also teaches life skills like balancing a checkbook and team communication. Lastly, it exposes high schoolers to jobs in fields like cybersecurity, marketing, and public safety.

Biery says the lawmakers have played a big part in CareerONE’s growth. “I mentioned to one of the senators that the funding that we get through the state for summer youth programs and the Youthbuild program is probably enough to cover about 60 students. So, we fundraise or write grants to serve up to — Right now, this year, we’re going to serve 170 youth.

One of the primary corporate partnerships that CareerONE relies on is CentraCare. It funds many of the demonstrations used for healthcare students. On Thursday, they got to simulate a live birth using a pig’s womb. Students will work for CentraCare over the summer with landscaping and mulching. Mayor Dave Kleis is expected to lead the group on a clean-up effort around the city to help tidy up public spaces and parks.

In addition to meeting with the students, Murphy and Putnam held a business roundtable discussion on pressing issues in St. Cloud. Participants said affordable childcare and housing were our biggest economic challenges.

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