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Welcome, welcome, welcome to MidMornings on Civic Media.
My name is Greg Bach.
I am your host, your buddy, your pal, your friend in warmth and stay warm.
I hope you're having a wonderful...
Wednesday morning.
So far, we're really happy that you're here today.
Very happy to be sharing time with us and very much look forward to our show today.
We have a lot coming up this morning for you.
But first I want to kick it over to the man behind the boards, the guys on the ones and twos, Mr. Calvin, Buten Haas.
Calvin, how are you doing this morning?
I'm doing pretty well.
You know, I'm bracing for
the weather that's around the corner
this
afternoon and tomorrow and Friday.
Yeah, I'm glad you brought that up.
I wanted to talk about that too in a moment, but we have a very, very exciting show for you today at 9.30.
We'll be speaking to Michelle Jackson, who is the director of the UW Career Exploration Center, discussing the steps of a student nearing towards graduation.
You know, they've got their major, they're going to be getting their degree.
What are the steps in finding that job, putting themselves out in the world?
It's a very, very difficult job market right now.
I am not envious of anybody who has to put out applications at this point.
But Michelle is going to talk about that.
And I know that a lot of people who may be listening to this show are not, you know, of college age.
And if you are great, welcome.
We're happy that you are here today.
But I also want, if there are parents out there listening, because I think that
What's very important is that conversation that you may have with your child about where they're going to take their next steps about finding that job, finding a career to take them in the next few years of their life.
Because I'll discuss more about that with Michelle, because I had that same conversation with a friend of mine who is facing some difficulties with their, their young one.
So this isn't just a conversation for students.
This is a conversation for parents, for teachers, for all sorts of individuals.
So Michelle Jackson will be here after the 930 news.
And then in the second hour, very much looking forward to this discussion, I will be speaking to C.T.
Wynn, who is a philosophy professor and the author of the score, How to Stop Playing Somebody Else's Game.
It is a book that is
The title alone can sound like a self-help book, but and I appreciate that because when you dig into what he talks about, he talks about the gamification of life and algorithms and how we see ourselves in the world that is defined by metrics and by algorithms.
And we'll be talking to him more about the book and his work in the 10 o'clock hour, 1030 brings us Audio Sorbet.
We're gonna be talking about life changes.
Have you made a career change?
Are you making a career change?
Do you want to make one and also?
As far as like what do you do for you know, we're gonna be talking about playing games with professor win and That is something I want to talk to you about as well as like what are the games that you play in your life that bring you joy and how do you approach the games and is it you know Are you a board game person?
Are you a video game person?
We'll talk more about that in the coming hour, but we got a lot going on and Calvin brought it up just now
The, according to WPR, the weather experts warn Wisconsinites to prep for the cold this weekend.
It has been cold all week.
And right now in the mid mornings on civic media, weather balloon is currently 22 degrees, which is actually a balmy 22 degrees here in radio park in Racine.
And we will be getting much worse.
It is going to be freezing cold weather.
It's going to be below zero, much across Wisconsin.
We are going to be seeing wind chills that are going to plummet into the double digits below zero.
And I'm just saying that now because I want everyone to prepare themselves.
Make sure you get them hats, gloves, scarves, jackets, wear some long johns.
Do what you can do to stay warm because I know we're Wisconsinites.
I know we're built Midwest tough.
But there is nothing to be said about not being safe here.
We want to be safe.
We want to be, we want to be secure and we want to keep warm.
Just take care of yourselves, be aware and also check out the weather on your app of choice right here on civic media.
We got the weather reports all the time, but yeah, we just want to put that out there and say.
Keep safe.
Keep warm.
So that was just my little we'll talk more about I'm sure tomorrow because tomorrow that is when it's supposed to hit into the evening time and throughout the full weekend, but we want you to stay warm Really quick to another announcement.
We didn't talk about this yesterday.
We're gonna talk about it right now
Tonight is the Main Street Governor's Candidate Forum in Milwaukee.
This is going to be presented by Main Street Alliance.
The Democratic candidates for Wisconsin Governor will gather in Milwaukee tonight for the first gubernatorial candidate forum of the 2026 race.
Remember folks.
This is an election year and we are voting for governor this year.
So the forum is being hosted by Main Street Action.
I'm sorry, I said alliance.
I meant to say action.
My apologies.
Main Street Action at the Coopridge in Milwaukee from 6 p.m.
tonight until 7 30 and seven candidates will be our schedule to participate.
Senate State Representative Francesca Hong, State Senator Kelder Roy's.
former WEDC director, Missy Hughes, Lieutenant Governor Sarah Rodriguez, Milwaukee County Executive, David Crowley, former DOA Secretary Joel Brennan and former Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes.
This is all going off tonight and it will be moderated by Civic Media's very own founder of the Reconpopulation Area.
Our political editor, Mr. Dan Schaefer will be the moderator of this and we will have exclusive live stream coverage
on our website.
So you go to Civic Media's YouTube channel and you can watch the forum happening right there.
So you go to Civic Media on YouTube, watch the forum happen.
That's going to be all going down tonight at 6 p.m.
If you want to be there, it'll be up the Cooperage from 6 p.m.
to 7 30 p.m.
presented by Main Street Action, moderated by Dan Schaefer, brought to you by Civic Media.
So be a part of the process.
It all starts right now.
We're in election season, everyone.
Take a deep breath.
Breathe out.
We're going to do this together.
We'll talk about it together.
We'll be informed together and we will hopefully Calvin make good choices.
I see Cindy on the live stream.
I'm not in the lecture on the text line right now.
Cindy is calling in right now.
Cindy, what's going
on?
Hello, it's Humpty Day today.
And I thought, oh, great.
It's Humpty.
And then I heard the news this morning.
I thought, oh, no, it's Rump Day because our moron who is not in charge is in Sweden, making an ass out of himself.
OK, all right, all
right.
OK, Cindy, coming in really hot right now.
We just kicked off.
We just kicked off.
Yes, he is currently speaking at the Davos
Is that the Davos convention?
And I saw a little bit of it during my prep and he was, he was very much talking and I wasn't able to catch all of it.
Is there, are there any highlights Cindy that you saw that were something that caught your eye?
I cannot watch that man.
I just cannot look at him, but no, I'm sure he's over there embarrassing us to no end.
Like he's been doing with everything else, but yeah, it's just, it's so pathetic.
I just don't understand
it.
That's why, I mean, I know it's going to sound very simple and very plain and very, I mean, I'm not saying it's an election year.
This is the year where we're going to be choosing new leaders and, you know, he's not running right now.
Well, by all means, he can't run again, but that's a different conversation.
But that brings me right back to the topic of the election.
We have individuals who are running for office.
We have individuals who are running for reelection.
And this is the time.
especially in the state, our state elections, state senators, our representatives, the governor, county board, judges races, city council, town council, you name it, but those local direct races are the things that directly affect us as well.
And I understand Cindy's frustration.
I watched a little bit of it.
I heard, you know, it's on mute right now.
And it completely on brand for what he does when he speaks into microphones, but that
only makes me feel more fervent about the fact that we need to have these conversations that we will be talking about throughout the year with candidates, with people who are looking to hold on to their seats, get rehired.
So that's where I say, if you see that kind of stuff on TV, just let that absolutely strengthen your resolve to not only go out there and vote, but also talk to your friends and family about who you think are the best representatives.
for your communities.
If you want to find out more, you go to myvote.wi.gov, put in your information.
You can find out more about who represents you.
You can find out more about your ballot when they become available.
We do have a spring, I'm sorry, we do have a primary next month, February 17th, that will be for the April election.
Not everyone will have a primary if you don't have to have a primary, but just be on the lookout for that because you want to cast your ballot when you can and let your voice be heard.
And I just, you know, I get that frustration.
I get that anger.
I get that I, you know, on a world stage like Davos, I get that embarrassment too.
If you feel that it's understood, but let that then strengthen your ability to go out there and talk to people and have what can be really tough conversations.
And, you know, find out who may not think the way you believe.
I had a,
Really great talk this weekend with my friend's dad.
My friend's dad, by all accounts, if you look at him, you are going to probably try to assume you know what he thinks, who he votes for, what he does with his life.
And I can tell you so many ways that those assumptions will be wrong with him.
And so I guess in the long run, now is the time to have those conversations because I think you might be surprised by what people will tell you.
Because we're living in a country where the economy is rough, prices are going up, it's harder to afford things.
Talking about school, talking about healthcare, talking about childcare, talking about, you know, affording a home.
A lot of young people wanting to buy a house, they might not be able to.
They feel discouraged.
Those viewpoints those opinions and values are shared by a lot of people and I feel like if you know It's not the time to dismiss individuals based on what they look like or what you think they may vote just because you know Oh, they have a big burly mustache and they like to shoot guns They must like like this guy that might not be the case.
That's what I found out this weekend at least so again talking about being open to the conversations that influence the voting influence
the way our elections are held and influenced, the way our community is run by the proper leaders who should be there doing the job we send them to do.
But speaking of our leaders, we'll talk about this for a little bit and then we'll come back with it as well.
In WPR today, Daniel Cating has the byline.
This title is Microsoft wants to build 15 more data centers in Mount Pleasant.
The data centers are part of
plans to build two more data centers campuses in Mount Pleasant.
Basically for $13 billion, Microsoft is looking to build 15 more data centers in Mount Pleasant as part of the two new campuses worth, as we said, $13 billion just came through in the biz times.
And Microsoft's post person said, they confirmed the proposed expansion on land they purchased in 2024.
As we know, we, you know, that, that.
News came down last year, very, very big news for Tony Evers for Wisconsin.
And it has a lot of people concerned.
I would say, I would say 2025 was the year that data centers as a talking point as a subject matter really exploded here in Wisconsin, seeing places like Caledonia voting down a data center, seeing Port Washington.
being too late, the people realizing what was going on and then attending a meeting and it already passed.
And when we come back, I want to talk more about a piece of legislation out of the Wisconsin assembly that seeks to regulate data centers from the GOP.
And some people aren't happy about it.
And it's not who you think it is.
So talk more about that when we come back.
And then of course, after the 9 30 news, we're talking to Michelle Jackson from the UW.
career center.
And we're talking about applying for those jobs after graduation, but don't go anywhere.
We're still have lots more coming up.
Happy year here this morning.
Hope you're staying warm.
You're listening to mid mornings on civic media.
My name is Greg Bach.
Be part of the conversation.
855-752-4842-855-75 civic.
Stay tuned and stay close.
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I hope you're having a good morning.
I'm happy you're here today.
Happy that you're sharing time with us.
If you want to be part of the conversation, you can do that by calling or texting.
The number is the same.
It's 855-752-4842-855-75 Civic.
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We are currently streaming on Facebook, YouTube, and the platform.
We still call Twitter as a reminder tonight.
If you cannot be there, you can live stream it on our YouTube page, Civic Media's YouTube page.
It is the Main Street Action
are the main street governor candidate forum presented by main street action moderated by dan shafer civic media's very own dan shafer it will be a sit-down forum with seven candidates from the the seven candidates on the democrat side for wisconsin's governor's race this year uh it's going to be taking place from six to seven thirty
It's going to be at the Coopridge in Milwaukee.
If you can't be there, as I said, you can stream it on our YouTube page, but that all begins at six o'clock tonight.
And we hope you're there.
And we hope you're there, whether you're online or you were in person, but this is the start of the conversation.
We are in January of 2026 and we have a lot of months.
to talk about the election.
And one of the big topics, when it's gonna come to the election and when it's gonna come to who we're voting for, depending on where we live in this state, is the topic of data centers.
And as I just mentioned earlier, there was an announcement from Microsoft that they want to build 15 more data centers in Mount Pleasant as a part of a $13 billion campaign.
That was reported by The Biz Times.
And reading this here in WPR, Danielle Cating has the byline.
On a related note, and Anya Von Wagon-Donk from WPR also has a byline this, Wisconsin Assembly advances bill to regulate data centers.
We have been talking about this for a little while now, and there is a bill that's going through the Wisconsin State Assembly on the Republican side, it has advanced that would require data centers and not consumers to pay for related improvements to the state power grid, and also using
it would ensure that they were using the water properly, using closed loop systems, basically making it that the responsibility is on the side of the data centers and the companies who own the data centers.
And what I find interesting is, is that this bill passed on party lines, but it does not have worldwide
Acceptance on party lines.
So Democrats are not very happy about it because they feel that this is not something this is a bill that does not force the companies to use renewable energy sources to power these data centers and Meanwhile the the Republicans
also believe that this was put together too hastily and not a very good plan, but it did pass on party lines with only one Republican non-votingist.
So people don't like it, but they voted for it.
I don't really know how to quantify that one.
It was, it did have some Democratic support.
Jody Emerson, Steve Doyle.
Both voted for this measure and Lindy Brill who's a Republican who has made of quite a name for herself last year as a first-time rep in Madison or working in Madison She was the lone Republican to vote against it, but it looks like this is going to Go through so far And I guess I want to know your thoughts on this I mean
It's coming from the GOP side.
There is a concern that there was not language in here that was going to create a system where they would have to use renewable energies to do this, that they, while they have to be mindful of the utility costs and the water usage, they don't have to use things like solar energy fields.
And what I think is very funny is that here in the story, this is a quote from
assembly speaker, Robin Voss.
It says the GOP bill also says that data center wishes to rely on renewable energies.
The source must be on the property of the data center.
And Robin Voss says that is to prevent people who don't want to live across from a solar field paying for somebody else's power needs.
Again, Robin Voss, always great when it comes with the quotes, I must say.
And representative Angelita, Angelito,
Tenorio, who is a Democrat from West Dallas, says that's the worst part of the bill because it doesn't create a system where they have to use renewable energies.
It basically says they can do whatever they want and it locks them, quote, into dirtier, more expensive fossil fuels.
I understand that as a problem and it's something I wonder if we can go back in the future and change because I think that is an important part of the conversation.
I know that the
the bill that came from the Democrats side from State Senator Jody Habers-Sinneken did say things that there was renewable energy that must be used, union labor, local labor must be used as well, but that bill did not advance unfortunately for the Democrats, but this is what's going through.
I know that's a bigger part of the conversation, and I know there are people probably out there saying, no, we need to use renewable energies.
I don't disagree with that at all.
But right now, the fact that there is some sort of bill in existence that's going to hold these companies responsible for making sure folks like me and you and our neighbors aren't going to have to pay exorbitant energy bills and utility costs because of these data centers, which is going to skyrocket those needs.
I think that is a good first step.
I'm sorry if that makes you mad, but I think a good first step is better than nothing.
And hopefully maybe down the road, there can be something to repair that.
need to create a bill that says, nope, these companies now have to use sustainable resources.
But also, where are we going to be in five years with these?
Anyways, are they going to need something so big?
That's another question we're going to constantly be asking is, as data center usage grows and technology advances, will things shrink and will buildings be left dormant because they no longer need them?
And then that bigger question is, what do those communities do with those dormant buildings?
Again, conversations we are going to continue to have over the coming years regarding this topic.
But when we come back after the 930 news, we are going to be speaking with Michelle Jackson, who is the director of the UW Career Exploration Center, talking about what are the kids going to do after graduation, looking for that job, searching for that career.
What are the steps?
Listen to it.
If you have a kid.
at the same position.
You are listening to mid mornings on civic media.
My name is Greg Bach.
Don't go anywhere.
Stay tuned.
Stay warm.
Stay close.
Welcome.
Welcome back to mid mornings on civic media.
My name is Greg Bach, your buddy, your pal, your advocate in your career path.
So
We're happier here this morning.
It is a blustery, I would say balmy 22 degrees here at Radio Park in Racine.
The mid morning, civic media weather balloon that's up in the air says that the wind is currently not hurting our faces, but that doesn't mean anything right now in January.
Also tomorrow it's going to get.
incredibly cold.
So please be aware.
Please pack accordingly.
Keep yourself safe and warm.
We'll talk more about that tomorrow or a healthy reminder for you that tonight is the Main Street Canada gubernatorial candidate forum at the Cooperage.
If you can't be there in Milwaukee, you can live stream the event on Civic Media's YouTube page.
Starting at 6 p.m.
until 7 30 p.m.
You're gonna have seven candidates from the Democrat side who are running for governor.
Main Street action is putting it on Dan Schaefer, our very own Dan Schaefer, the founder of the Reconpopulation area.
He is going to be the emcee and moderator of the event, but be a part of it.
learn what's going on, find out what these individuals are, are, are standing for.
And if they are the people that you want to hire for the job when we vote for them, come November, because before we know it, boom, elections will be here.
And I gotta take a holy breath on that one.
Okay.
Coming up in the second hour, we are going to be speaking with C.T.
Wynn about his book, The Score, How to Stop Playing.
Let's say I want to say this credit the score how to stop playing somebody else's game talking about that in the second hour.
We have audio sore bait coming up at 1035.
And then of course this shouldn't be a thing.
It's going to be a great show folks.
And we're really happy that you're here today.
And right now I want to kick it over to our first guest talking about a topic I think is very important when it comes to the topic of careers.
It's the spring semester in college.
Kids are going to be looking to graduate looking for them jobs looking for a career.
and we thought who better to talk about that than Michelle Jackson, who is the director of the UW Career Exploration Center.
Good morning, Michelle.
How are you today?
Good morning, doing good, staying warm.
We're we've kicked off classes for the spring, so it's nice to have
students back.
Wonderful, wonderful.
Now really quick.
What does the UW Career Exploration Center do?
What is the job?
What is your job and what does the center do for students and.
Maybe more families in this pathway.
Yeah, so I'm a little biased, but we are a very cool career office.
Not a lot exists like ours.
We are the folks who specialize in exploration.
So there is, UW Madison is in the great position to have a career office for every school and college.
So engineering, career services, nursing, so on and so forth.
Our office, the Career Exploration Center, we work with any and every undergraduate student who wants to connect with us regardless of school, college or what year they are.
And we are the folks who help students kind of figure out the mess of what do I want to do with my life?
What kind of careers are out there?
What does that mean for picking a major and what I'm doing now with my academic work and kind of trying to make sense of all of those options?
Yeah.
And let's start there.
I mean, how does one person pick a major?
That's in and of itself, I feel like.
You either go into college knowing exactly what you want to do, or you say, I'm going to take some classes and I'll figure it out.
But what do you do to help them go along the way of finding out this might be a good strategy for you?
Yeah, and I think you kind of said it right there is what's the right strategy for the right person So we see students, you know across the board from like you mentioned I'll figure it out as I go to I already have a really clear idea in mind and then there's that really healthy middle chunk of students who
have one or two or three ideas and kind of need to narrow it down or know exactly what they want to be and then hit a roadblock and have to make you turn and figure something out along the way.
So at least with our college students who kind of talk about it, one individual interest plans matter for sure.
you know, depending on what speaks to you, we can start in the beginning and look forward.
So where are you now?
What are you interested in?
What sparks your curiosity?
Okay, let's check those things out and see what are some common career pathways connected to those things, knowing that nothing is an end all be all.
Other students really need to flip that script and start at the end and say, where do I think I want to be?
Where do I think I want to go?
What kind of careers call to me?
And work our way backwards to what sort of majors help a student be prepared for or be competitive for that field of interest.
And we talk all the time around.
most of the time major does not equal career and most career paths can be obtained with a lot of different academic backgrounds because the major is really just one piece of that picture.
I think that's an important point of the conversation too is that almost demystifying of that of the whole topic because if you're brought up in you know you brought up in regular society you go to school you pick a major and if I've like my major is political science real smart on my end but you pick a major and then you are
to work on that in that field.
But as you just said, that might not be the case.
How do you explain that to students?
And more so maybe even parents that, hey, it's all open here.
We're good.
Don't worry about this path you've been told you need to take.
Let's explore something that might be more applicable for the student so they will be maybe happy in what they do.
Yeah.
So many things to say on that one.
So let's see.
Where do we want to start?
With influences in our students' lives.
And that's a big one.
We're a large school.
We have students from all over the state, all over the country, all over the world.
So there is always a conversation around what's most important to you when thinking about...
your future.
You mentioned happiness.
I
hope for myself and others to be happy in the work that they do and for others that's pretty low on the list and
you know something
else is a priority.
Money is their priority.
Job security is the priority.
So we do get to get into, we love those conversations, those around values and what's most important to you.
Some of our favorite
little tricks and tactics with students especially to demystify some of this is when's the last time you pulled up a job description?
A job description that
is for something that you might want to do in 20 years like that sounds great to you and scroll down to that qualification section and find out
oh
yeah it says this major that major this major or other related field and that's
like right like
that's our opening around okay cool I just have to make a justification for that other related field and it doesn't have to be
only major oriented right so skills based hiring is on the rise um employers are are dealing with grappling with this idea that major does not tell the full story and we need to know what this future candidate brings to the table what are their experiences what are their skills so we spend so much time talking with students about
that experience piece.
How do you go out and find and get involved with meaningful experiences?
If you're just joining us here on mid mornings and civic media, we're speaking with Michelle Jackson, who is the director of the UW Career Exploration Center in Madison.
And I think, you know, one of the things that maybe
very daunting for especially a young person because you're thinking about like people are probably talking to you between the ages of 18 to 22 mainly if I'm not mistaken.
I'm sure there are people who are older and maybe if you have a genius who is younger but that is the age gap that you're looking at.
Someone walking into your office saying, I think I made a mistake.
I came here because I thought I wanted to be a doctor but I want to be a lawyer or I want to do this.
What is the added work you have to do to calm them and say, it's all right.
You're good.
Don't worry about that.
Let's talk about it first.
Because there are people out there who, kids, I should say, they're people.
Kids are people.
But I want to make it clear, these are kids who have so much pressure on themselves to go to college, graduate, get a job, have a career, do all the things they're told to do.
to deviate from what the plan was can be something that is earth-shaking and how do you as a career exploration center deal with that just the emotion of it all when they say, I think I don't want to do this anymore?
Yeah.
Great question.
Not even.
Great question because it's half the battle.
Humans right we do we tend to lean toward the devil we know so when a student shows up and they're willing to name and say to someone they don't know you know I'm a stranger.
Oh, man, this isn't right.
And I think I made a mistake.
That's a big deal.
It's a brave thing to do, and it's a really hard thing to do.
We know plenty of humans and students who will just chug along because they feel like they're stuck in that track.
So interestingly enough, a lot of the folks in our office have counseling backgrounds.
It's not required to do this work, but it's what draws us to working with these students.
Because making these decisions about how you want to show up in the world and what you want your future to look like, they're really big.
And they are emotional.
That's a big part of the data that we're working with.
So just that, we spent some time getting to know their story.
How did you land up?
How did you land here?
How did we get here?
You got here for a reason, right?
You weren't just.
grabbing at things randomly.
You were here for a reason, so let's unpack that and what's still true and what's not true anymore.
What new information have you learned where we're deciding to pivot?
And what are the options?
Where can we go with that next?
So really validating that the thing they're doing already, admitting that something doesn't feel right and they need to put in the time and energy to find some new doors to open, can be game changing and validating around, okay.
I'm not the only one here.
We're all figuring out life together.
Now, the other question I have, because I had a conversation with a friend of mine whose daughter is going to be graduating very soon and has taken some different paths in her time at college, but is still now kind of up against that wall of doesn't know what she wants to do with this degree she will be getting.
And luckily, my friend is an incredibly
understanding supportive father is just wants his girl to be happy.
And that's all he cares about.
You know, she's safe and happy.
That's the start.
Yeah, are there times where you have to have conversations with parents?
And I'm asking this question because we have parents listening right now.
And I if if you are one of those parents who's grappling with this topic as we hit the spring semester, do you have conversations with parents about, Hey, your kid wants to change careers.
Here's what we can do together.
Or is that you know, is that not something you deal with or
Or do you at least advise the kid on how to approach their parents?
Yeah, so we don't explicitly carve out space and time to work one-on-one with parents.
We talk to them a lot during the summer months when students are coming onto campus for orientation and they're bringing their families, their support network.
So that's when we get our chance to connect with parents.
And parents will call or parents will join a Zoom appointment at times.
Like we definitely come up.
come up with that.
But our main thing is what you said there is supporting the student, coaching the student, working with a student.
Generally they can anticipate or they've already heard for years maybe what mom and dad or grandma or grandpa's concern and question is.
And so we can help kind of coach them, coach their parents around here's why I'm tackling this in this way.
Here's what my opportunities are, give them some of that language.
That's excellent.
And I think that's important for parents to hear because it's, you know, I mean, I do not have children, but I can't imagine what they're going through as far as the college experience into the job market world because when I was young, when I was at the college graduating age, it was kind of like that.
You need a degree.
a master's degree would be very good.
But now it feels like the game has completely changed.
And I want to talk more about that with you on the other side of the break, which is navigating post post graduation, trying to find the job and making that happiness work for you in your career choices.
But we are talking to Michelle Jackson, who's the director of the UW Career Exploration Center here on mid morning, mid mornings on civic media.
If you have any questions, let us know.
Drop them in the comments section.
Drop them on the live stream.
Give us a call 855-752-484-2855.
75 Civic, more to come after this.
Don't go anywhere.
Stay
tuned.
Stay warm.
Stay close.
Welcome back to mid mornings on civic media.
My name is Greg Bach, your host, your buddy, your pal, and your friend in your career path findings.
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We are on the air until 11 a.m.
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great show still ahead for you, including a conversation in the 10 o'clock hour with CT win, who is the author of the game.
Stop playing.
How to stop playing somebody else's game.
I'm sorry.
Sorry.
It's a long morning.
The book is called The Score.
How to stop playing somebody else's game.
He'll be here talking about the book and just the overarching ideas in the book and how there's so much happening.
It's so wonderful.
But we are talking right now with Michelle Jackson, who is the director of the UW Career Exploration Center at Madison.
And we're talking about just the...
The pathways for people who want to find a want to find their career upon graduation want to change change a career path what the career exploration center does and Michelle you said during the secret show on the live stream that you came up through this department This is some this is a place you've been at for a decade now talk more about that for a second.
Would you?
Yeah, nearly a decade.
I don't get full credit yet My background was in mental health counseling that was always the plan and I was in that world for a couple years through a really large behavioral health organization and Honestly really stumbled into career counseling.
So in grad school, we had to take a career counseling class.
I had an aha moment that
that really spoke to me.
I watched my parents struggle through recessions and career changes and really felt the weight of how that shows up and impacts everyone
in a
person's orbit.
And career is a thing that we're kind of all dealing with all the time, whether or not it's front of mind.
And so found my way to this office and have called it home for almost a decade.
And I think that's a very important aspect of bringing up too, because you said that
your colleagues have career counseling backgrounds.
And I promise you, I'm not trying to be funny, but there is a mental health aspect to finding a career because, I mean, when I was at college graduating age, that was the early 2000s, and the landscape was never easy, but the things I hear people of all ages saying now,
is it feels like an impossible task to even begin to formulate resumes, cover letters, all those things to start.
So what are the things, what are the tactics you employ to help kids, young people, students, or maybe older folks who are continuing education take that next step to look for a job?
Who helps you in that journey?
Yeah, so especially for college students, my number one thing I can tell any student is use your resources.
You are probably not paying a small amount to attend a college, a university, an institution of any kind.
And of the many things that that grants you is access to some really great resources, starting with the humans.
Use your academic advisors, your career advisors, your faculty, instructors, all of those adults that kind of swarm around you and you don't really always think about.
There's a great book designing your life that's really relevant to figuring out career.
And one of the things that those authors talk about is radical collaboration, right?
Figuring out career in life is not meant to be a solo journey.
Tap into those experiences of everyone around you and those tools and resources that are at your fingertips and available
available for you while you're in school.
Everything from the internship platforms and the study abroad opportunities and the tools and tech not like free AI platforms, lots of great things.
Well, and that's a, that's a great thing you just brought up there.
AI, how is AI influenced?
How has AI influenced this entire process from your job itself to kids getting out there?
Cause I know that it's about finding those.
great keywords on your cover letter or your resume that kicks in and allows you to go to the next level.
And how are you navigating that aspect of the world now in finding a career?
Yeah, it shows up everywhere.
So I think happy or not, we should all know that we're not escaping AI.
It's in everything.
It's in every opportunity out there for career exploration specifically.
there are some really awesome ways to use it, really helpful ways.
So, you know, let's say we're talking to a student who is thinking about a certain career path, let's say...
I don't know, something in an environmental conservation will just make something up.
But they don't have any experience in that world yet.
They've had a great summer job as a lifeguard or working at a sandwich shop.
Those are great skills.
Those are important, but they want to take the next step.
Hop into an AI platform and find out, hey, this is the subject matter that I'm interested in.
who are the employers or what organizations exist in the Milwaukee area
if
that's home, that do work connected to that.
And now I've got an updated real-time list of 20 employers who do work somehow connected, and there's a starting point.
Excellent.
I mean, that to me, AI is just, that's where I start to feel like a very old man, where I'm like, AI, don't come near me with that robotic chat stuff, because, but it can be, if you use it correctly, or if you use it with the goal of, you know, positive outcomes, it can be utilized well.
It can be utilized for good.
And I think if that's the case, and all that is, that is fantastic.
Michelle, I really appreciate you spending some time with us this morning and talking to us, especially as we're moving into that spring semester.
And if parents, if you are out there, have a talk with your kids, talk to them about their plans and make sure that they have the ability to be open and honest with you.
And don't be afraid to have what could be your kid might not want to be a lawyer anymore.
They might want to work in environmental conservation.
So just be prepared for that.
But that's
That's okay.
Let them be happy.
That's all I'm gonna say.
But Michelle Jackson is the director of the UW Career Exploration Center.
Michelle, again, thank you so much for your time.
Really appreciate you.
I hope you have a wonderful day and you do stay warm, especially in this upcoming weekend.
Thanks so much.
All right, when we come back, we'll be speaking with C.T.
Wynn, who is the author of The Score, How to Stop Playing Somebody Else's Game on the other side of the break, but don't go anywhere.
We've got news coming up next.
And then more come on mid mornings on Civic Media here on Civic Media.
My name is Greg Box.
Stay tuned, stay informed, stay close.
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