Oceanside CA— MiraCosta music technology students have been busy this semester making music with Oceanside pre-teens.
It’s all part of “Pathways to 21st Century Careers,” a Service Learning project in which MiraCosta students and Oceanside fifth graders from five elementary schools are using music to explore careers.
“The unique nature of this project is that it addresses many goals of both MiraCosta College and the Oceanside Unified School District (OUSD),” said MiraCosta College music instructor, Steven Traugh. “The project empowers 5th grade students with the tools and experience to chart pathways to higher education and future careers through an integration of the arts and technology.”
As part of the project, fifth graders have researched 21st century careers and will outline the steps necessary to succeed in their chosen field. With the help of MiraCosta College students, the 5th graders have taken their research and turned it into song lyrics. The lyrics will be set to music and recorded by 30-40 kids in MiraCosta’s state of the art recording studios in early May. The finished songs will then be performed at each elementary school as well as at a gala performance in the MiraCosta Concert Hall on Friday, May 29.
“Only certain students were chosen to be part of this project and I’m super excited to be one of them,” said 10 year-old Dane Adams. His classmate, Trinity Bower, also is intrigued by the aspect singing in a real recording studio.
“I’m excited that I get to come to a real college,” said Bower. “I get to sing in a real recording studio and experience all these cool things!”
The experience is special for MiraCosta students as well.
“This project is a really cool way to get students to decrease the gap between elementary school and college to find a richer path to their future educational and career goals,” said MiraCosta College student and Carlsbad High School orchestra teacher, Jessica Allen. “It also lets the students know the different types of careers that are out there.”
For more information regarding the project or the gala performance, please contact Steven Traugh at straugh@miracosta.edu or 760.795.6816.