Swanton, Ohio – A consortium has formed out of the necessity to help our young people understand how they can achieve their dreams right here in the NW Ohio region.
Building on the very successful culture shift at Swanton Local Schools around workforce readiness the Swanton Parents Club has funded an immersive experience that will connect our middle school students directly with local businesses through an interactive mural painted on the expansive wall in the Middle School Career Center.
Nationally recognized muralist Dave Rickerd has been commissioned to create the interactive experience which will be revealed during open house to kick off the new exciting school year on August 15th from 6-6:30. Dave was also commissioned to paint the 3D mural on the old Rupp Furniture building in Archbold just as you approach the tracks from the South on Rt 66.
The mural painted on the large western facing wall in the Career Center includes 200 area businesses as you face west from the Lucas/Fulton Co line. The interactive mural will include a QR code. Upon scanning the code, an electronic replica of the mural will appear on your device. Each business will be a hot link. Tap it and you immediately are immersed in that company’s customized experience created to reach our young people while they’re still in middle school.
It’s clear that if our young people are more exposed to opportunities right in their own back yard, we will keep our best and brightest right here in our region. Remote users will enjoy the same experience through the solution provided by Northwest Ohio ESC.
Embedded in the mural are “There’s no place home” images as a fun way to remind our young people about the great opportunity’s that await them right here in our region when they graduate from High School or College.
The new consortium formed organically immediately after the Swanton Parents Club announced their decision to fund the mural. Instead of requesting donations from our very generous business partners, we are very pleased to use this as our way of demonstrating that Educators and Community Members are stepping up in a big way to do more than their fair share to help solve the workforce dilemma.
The Fulton County Economic Dev Corp Office immediately begun to actively assist as well as the Ohio Means Job office. The NwOESC is funding and hosting the electronic experience behind the QR code.
“I couldn’t be any more excited about how this idea has come to fruition and the impact we will make together to improve how we educate our kids utilizing this novel approach” Chris Lake, Swanton Local Schools Superintendent
“It’s immediately evident as soon as I saw the mural for the first time how many unique career opportunities we have in our region. I’m impressed beyond belief! – Matt Gilroy FCEDC Director