Darius Timmons, the 
Director of College and Career Placement at ConneXions: A Community Based Arts School, has a goal for his students: for them “to be themselves and see that they can use their gifts and talents in the world.” This past spring, ConneXion’s Career and Transition Fair moved the students one step closer to that goal.
The fair was a fantastic, thoughtfully planned occasion to “empower our students by building connections—after all, that’s our name—and create opportunities to change their trajectories,” recounted Mr. Timmons.
The day-long event began with a pep rally to get seniors excited and prepared to meet with 
community partners. Students visited tables staffed by more than 20 representatives from organizations, colleges, and potential employers. Participants include the University of Maryland, College Park, Baltimore City Community College, the Community College of Baltimore County, the Maryland Division of Rehabilitation Services, and multiple employers offering summer apprenticeships and internships. Following the seniors, each grade had time during the day to attend the fair.
“All students are different. This school has a lot of first-generation college students,” says Mr. Timmons. “We focus a lot on the whole child—how do they feel, what’s going on, what obstacles are preventing them from being successful. We’re showing them opportunities beyond the school building because education goes beyond the classroom. Even though this was a college and career fair, it was more than that; it's creating opportunities that don’t always come to students and is more than academics.”
“Our students get to see that people who look like them are doing phenomenal things in this world,” he continued.”This commitment to providing opportunities for all ConneXion students is clearly successful; last year, 85% of graduating seniors went directly to college, a work training program, or employment.
Ninth grader McKenzi intends to be one of those success stories. After attending the fair, she commented, “It’s important to know what you want to do at this age so you can take the steps to learn about it so that you can be successful.”
ConneXions facilitated McKenzi's certification as a lash technician, and she intends to become a real estate agent. “I’ve already started to look at classes for that,” she says.
The fair also “gave local organizations and companies an opportunity to develop a talent pool that they can cultivate for future leadership,” acknowledges Mr. Timmons. “This is a positive community partnership.”
For anyone looking to understand better how the pillars in City School’s Portrait of a Graduate creates opportunities in the classroom and the world, and supports academic, college, career, and personal success for each unique student, one only need to look at the ConneXions event and the dedication of City Schools champions like Darius Timmons as an example.
Mr. Timmons is a proud Edmondson-Westside High School graduate and University of Maryland Eastern Shore alumnus. To learn more about how you can partner to provide opportunities for students, please get in touch with ConneXions Academy directly.
