Innovating your Career at Cortex

By Annie Donnell

The final day of DREAM BIG week 3 wrapped up where students visited Cortex. There, students learned about all the innovative possibilities and opportunities offered at Cortex. To see the culture of the company firsthand, students toured the 4020 building. Students noticed different companies have offices in this building, versus at other companies that just house one business. Ryan found the environment exciting.  “Each area we went to had different colors and themes for every conference room. It was a casual workplace. I could see myself working in this type of environment, and there were lots of views looking outside. I liked how the environment was less formal.”

After the tour, students heard from employees at Boeing Horizon X, who work at Cortex. To help students understand innovative careers at Cortex and Boeing Horizon X, students built towers in teams with materials such as string, tape, pasta noodles, and a marshmallow. Students had eighteen minutes to complete the task, and they had to make the tallest tower with the three teams competing. Students learned a lot from this hands-on activity.

Students heard from two employees who work at Centene at Cortex, and learned more about their careers in product management.

Starkloff staff lead programming in the afternoon on 504’s, IEP’s, the importance of utilizing the access office at college, and reviewed elevator pitches.

As week three came to a close, students reflected on the week by preparing for poster presentations. When Mollie reflected on the week she expressed, “At the beginning of the week, when I first started thinking about careers, I had one thing in mind. Throughout the week, I have realized that you need to have more than two careers in mind because there are so many opportunities that exist.”

Week three was a success, and students learned more about all the possible opportunities and continued expanding their horizons. Students seemed to have a better understanding of what their career goals are, and students now see anything is possible.