Our vision is World Class Leadership, World Class Student Success, and we are committed to supporting leaders and students alike.

USA-Kansas operates a foundation focused on developing post-secondary opportunities for Kansas students through intentional stakeholder outreach and engagement called the Western Kansas Careers Showcases. The goal of the Western Kansas Careers Showcases is “To encourage graduates in a career they are passionate about by exploring opportunities in Southwest Kansas”. Through this work, Southwest Kansas communities will be able to keep local school graduates in their communities where they can live happy and successful lives with family and a fulfilling career. The WKCS Program will work to create partnerships with young adults and local organizations to explore career opportunities, build connections, and encourage young adults to remain in Southwest Kansas. The scope of work will cover the following:

• Build trusting relationships with schools, students, businesses, and communities.

• Encourage young people to remain in our rural areas or facilitate them in returning to Southwest Kansas.

• Develop a workforce responsive to the needs of our rural area industries.

• Collaborate with rural area business/industry and professional educators to provide support and interaction via job shadowing, internships, and apprenticeships.

• Teach and expect leadership, teamwork, accountability, and essential skills at our showcases.

Work to create the Western Kansas Careers Showcases began during the 2021-2022 school year. Over the course of the program's first two school years, the program achieved the following through the rural Showcases:

• Over 800 students and professional educators from 26 different school districts attended the rural showcase;

• Over 30 businesses and professional organizations participated in the rural showcase;

• 6 showcases have been held: the first was with school counselors to onboard them to the program and the next five were for students to explore various career fields;;

• Showcases focused on 4 Career Fields: Agriculture, Education, Technical/Vocational, and HealthCare and Business Entrepreneurship;

• 3 area community colleges have participated in the showcases.

Through participation in these showcases, students have the opportunity to learn more about themselves, research local options, engage with local businesses, and create a strategic plan to assist them in reaching their professional goals. During the 2023-2024 school year, additional showcases are planned to cover the following career fields: Agriculture/Beef Industry, Business/Entrepreneurship, Education, Health Sciences, and Technical/Vocational.