{"id":1909,"date":"2026-03-23T15:42:14","date_gmt":"2026-03-23T20:42:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/m-cubed\/?p=1909"},"modified":"2026-03-27T09:33:20","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T14:33:20","slug":"finding-a-spark-mps-students-check-out-careers-at-matc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/m-cubed\/news\/finding-a-spark-mps-students-check-out-careers-at-matc\/","title":{"rendered":"Finding a Spark: MPS Students Check Out Careers at MATC"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

M-Cubed\u2019s Explore Your Future event connects sophomores to professional opportunities at college\u2019s four campuses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Five<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Peering into a powerful compound light microscope at a glass slide smeared with staph bacteria, Majuma Omar could see her future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is amazing,\u201d the sophomore at Milwaukee High School of the Arts said. \u201cI could get used to looking at this kind of stuff all day long.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Omar was one of nearly 1,500 sophomores from 20 Milwaukee Public Schools high schools who came to Milwaukee Area Technical College on Thursday, March 19, to get information about careers and educational opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The event, called Explore Your Future, was organized by M-Cubed, an innovative collaboration between MATC, MPS and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Its goals include ensuring student success, meeting the needs of the region\u2019s business and industry, and improving the well-being of Wisconsin residents, their families and communities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read about the <\/em>2025 event<\/em><\/a> and the <\/em>2024 event<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Thursday, students explored an array of career opportunities at all four MATC campuses: from animation and automotive technician at the Downtown Milwaukee Campus, to physical therapy assistant at the Mequon Campus, fire science at the Oak Creek Campus, and welding at the West Allis Campus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Phillip King, MATC\u2019s executive vice president and provost, told students at the Downtown Milwaukee Campus that he considered numerous careers when he was young. \u201cThere was architecture, there was photography, there was psychology,\u201d Dr. King said. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter if you don\u2019t know yet. The great news is that you don\u2019t have to take this journey alone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. King urged the students to ask questions on their tours, begin building networks, talk to teachers and stay engaged with MATC. \u201cWe\u2019d love to see you all back here in a few years,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the college\u2019s Downtown Campus, Omar peered into the microscope while exploring MATC\u2019s Medical Laboratory Technician program, which prepares students to perform a wide range of laboratory tests that aid in the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of diseases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The starting salary for laboratory technicians today is between $24 and $30 per hour, said Joelle Pietrzak, the program\u2019s instructional chair. \u201cIt\u2019s a nice field to be in,\u201d she said. \u201cThere are so many things you can get into. You\u2019ll never be bored.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the Baking and Pastry Arts classroom, students watched instructors Kurt Fogle and Andrew Schneider whip up dainty pastries topped with toasted meringue and fresh fruit pancakes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know if I could do this,\u201d said Dillon Ham, a student at Milwaukee Hamilton High School. \u201cI\u2019d eat everything I made.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the Al Hurvis\/PEAK Transportation Center, students used a pneumatic wrench to remove the lug nuts on the college\u2019s PEAK high-performance race car. They also heard about in-demand automotive careers that can pay up to $50 an hour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the Baber\/Cosmetology classrooms, students learned how to hold a straight razor and how to use cutting-edge technology to examine the scalps of customers. \u201cWe are all about the importance of safety and sanitation,\u201d said Julie Stubenrauch, a cosmetology instructor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thaysoe Paw, a student at Pulaski High School, was fascinated by the artificial latex arm used by the Phlebotomy program. \u201cWhen I press down on it, it feels like a bicycle tire,\u201d she said with a laugh. \u201cIf I was drawing blood from someone, I\u2019d be afraid their arm would pop.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These tours give students early exposure to the college\u2019s 180 programs and can help them make informed decisions about their future, said Nutan Amrute, MATC\u2019s manager of student career, employment and transfer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is all about getting these students to start thinking about not only what they want to do, but hopefully, what they will love to do,\u201d Amrute said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

by Mark Feldmann, March 23, 2026<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

M-Cubed\u2019s Explore Your Future event connects sophomores to professional opportunities at college\u2019s four campuses. Peering into a powerful compound light microscope at a glass slide smeared with staph bacteria, Majuma Omar could see her future. \u201cThis is amazing,\u201d the sophomore at Milwaukee High School of the Arts said. \u201cI could get used to looking at<\/p>\nRead more<\/a>","protected":false},"author":33600,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","uwm_wg_additional_authors":[]},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1909","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nFinding a Spark: MPS Students Check Out Careers at MATC - M cubed - MATC, UWM, MPS Collaboration<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/m-cubed\/news\/finding-a-spark-mps-students-check-out-careers-at-matc\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Finding a Spark: MPS Students Check Out Careers at MATC\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"M-Cubed\u2019s Explore Your Future event connects sophomores to professional opportunities at college\u2019s four campuses. 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