Voices In the Field
“Voices in the Field” is a project led and founded by Malinda Garcia, Principal at
Whiting High School (Albany County School District #1). Malinda started the project
during her time as a teacher up at Wind River High school and has led it since 2020
with support from the Wyoming School-University Partnership.
In 2025 Voices was held in two separate locations and helped cater post-secondary
programming to more than 450 high school and middle school students.
Albany County School District #1:
Malinda Garcia, Voices founder and Whiting High School Principal with Albany County
School District #1 coordinated with the Partnership and Rock River Principal, Stacie
Anfinson to bring Voices to Rock River High School on March 27, 2025. There were 155
students from Rock River High School, Whiting High School, Laramie Middle School,
and Laramie High School in attendance.
Big Horn County School District #1:
Sally Bernhisel, Career Coordinator with Big Horn County School District #1 worked
closely with the High Altitude Pathways Grant Team and the Partnership to host Voices
in the Field Northwest at Northwest College on March 11, 2025. There were 350 students
from Basin, Burlington, Greybull, Lovell, Meeteetse, Rocky Mountain, and Ten Sleep
in attendance.
Historical Model and Programming:
During October in each academic year, the seniors in the capstone meet with professionals
in various fields to learn about what education and skills are needed. In this way,
there is a focus on professional leadership and personal development that is a key
distinction between “Voices in the Field” and many job fairs. The professionals are
lending their voices and the students are an audience willing to ask the needed questions
to gain deep insight. Some of the professionals present include community college
personnel, professors (agriculture, health, humanities, engineering, etc.), vocational
occupations, and workers in various community and government roles.
During April in each academic year, the seniors visit the University of Wyoming campus
for a few days to present their research and to undergo tours around the WyoTech and
UW campuses. At this time, professors are invited to be present and ask questions
for the students. In addition, the students learn about resources on campus including
the Native American Education, Research, and Cultural Center, the UW Planetarium,
UW Geology Museum, and informational sessions around financial aid and scholarships.
Projects such as these are key to developing the necessary skills for our Wyoming
students and it is of great benefit that we have teachers leading this front.
Interested In Bringing Voices to your District?
If you are interested in assisting as a professional mentor or learning more about
how to partner, please contact Malinda Garcia at
mgarcia@acsd1.org or Nicholas Jesse at
njesse@uwyo.edu.
If you are interested in learning how WSUP can work with you to enhance your projects
with students or how the Partnership can help support you, please contact
partnership@uwyo.edu.
