Boys & Girls Club Visits ECC, Learn More About Visual Arts

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Sixteen middle school-age members from the Elgin Boys & Girls Club of North Central Illinois visited Elgin Community College (ECC) on July 23 to tour the visual arts department, create pottery, and learn more about the different pathways and avenues in the visual arts. 

The event was hosted by ECC’s College & Career Readiness Department, in collaboration with the college’s Visual Arts Department. 

"You don’t always know what opportunities are available, and I think when you open students’ eyes to those possibilities, they begin to recognize what’s possible for themselves and realize they’re capable of achieving those goals," said Gretchen Taylor, student readiness coordinator in the College & Career Readiness Department. “The bottom line is access.”

Taylor connected with the Boys & Girls Club Operations Manager Kara Thomas and discussed her members' needs and interests. Following those discussions, members in the organization’s UpNext leadership program, which introduces them to different career paths, first visited ECC last summer. They were able to participate in a culinary arts experience and explore the automotive field. 

Thomas wants her young members to “tap into everything available to them.” She said that many simply don't know what opportunities exist beyond the careers they're already familiar with through family or their immediate surroundings. Rather than asking what they want to do, she focuses on exposing them to new experiences that help them discover interests they may never have considered. 

For example, someone who enjoys drawing might one day pursue graphic design, marketing, animation, or video game development. Her goal is to help students recognize that their talents can lead to fulfilling careers. 

“I love the fact that I have these opportunities and connections to ECC, and hopefully they grow throughout the school year,” Thomas said.

Two members from the Boys & Girls Club who visited include Isaac Martinez and Malayzia Frye. Martinez attends Larson Middle School and will enter eighth grade this fall. He had never made ceramic bowls before and thought the process was very cool, though his hands get “pretty dirty fast.” Martinez hopes to learn more about ECC’s culinary program in a future visit.

It was also Frye’s first time creating pottery, and she learned about how the bowl hardens and why the clay sometimes breaks. The Elgin High School freshman’s initial thoughts on college were that it's “Where people come to chase their dreams or learn more about their career or what they want to do.” Frye would like to learn more about cosmetology and culinary arts in the future.

Thomas hopes that introducing her members to college campuses during middle school broadens their understanding of educational pathways and career possibilities long before they begin making decisions about their future. 

“There are so many different touch points from what an onsite experiential learning activity does for a middle school student,” said Katy Ro, associate dean of liberal, visual and performing arts at ECC. “It gets them onto a campus to see that a community college exists and what it is for. It allows a student or a student’s family to be able to see, here’s what’s available to me in my community nearby, and here are some opportunities that I could engage in.”

Building on the success of the partnership, ECC's College & Career Readiness Department and the Boys & Girls Club plan to continue offering career exploration experiences throughout the 2026-27 school year. Thomas also hopes to collaborate on future workforce-focused programming that introduces students to industry careers and hands-on learning opportunities available through ECC.