Doug Gaehle

Eighth-grader Doug Gaehle is too young to get a paying job. But, he and other Saeger Middle School classmates already have their job resumes on-line.

Doug said preparing an early resume has given him a "layout sheet for the future." That's even before he makes a final decision on what his career will be.

Saeger School in St. Charles County is a member in the University of Missouri-St. Louis' new Pathfinder program. It helps kids organize plans for future schooling and careers. It also will alert potential employers when the kids get old enough to hold jobs.

Companies who have part-time or full-time jobs for kids also join Pathfinder. That way, they can access the resumes so they can find kids with an interest in their area of business.

Doug already has gotten advice on how to improve his resume from adults where his father and mother work. His dad, Harry, is a director of construction for Hardee's restaurants. His mother, Barb, works at Missouri Baptist Hospital.

"They urged me to mention special skills, such as good writing ability," the 14-year-old said. "(The resume) shouldn't be only about your school work," he added.

Doug's resume includes not only educational background but also "additional skills" and "significant activities." In that last category, Doug lists his work at Missouri Baptist Hospital.

Although he can't be paid yet, Doug does work as a volunteer. He escorts patients and "give them juice after procedures." He said he likes the hospital volunteering "because you can move around to different jobs as your career plans mature."

Brandon Lehr

He has listed several health-related career interests. They include medical doctor, scientist and pharmaceutical representative. "I'd like to be a pediatrician," he said.

Kids stay in the Pathfinder program through high school. That means they can change and expand their resumes as they have more accomplishments. They also can make changes as they focus on a specific career.

For instance, 14-year-old Brandon Lehr now lists a wide range of "career objectives." He currently lists "manager, forensic scientist, mechanic and lawyer."

"I'm not really sure about a career now. I enjoy working on cars but that's more likely to be a hobby, not a career," he said.

He said he has shown his resume to teachers to get advice on improving it. He said the resume will help him "validate my accomplishments."

Neither Doug nor Brandon has made a college choice as yet.

But, the Pathfinder program will help them with that decision also. When they are ready, the Pathfinder database will search for colleges that are strong in their career areas.

Fourteen-year-old Lauren Jansen has picked a college. She wants to go to Northwestern University in Illinois because of its strong programs in media and the arts. She'd like to be an actress or do news reporting and broadcasting.

Lauren Jansen

"I'd like to work in movies. I'd like to act first; everyone wants to do that. Then, I'd like to direct or produce films," she said.

But, in the "significant activities" area of her resume, the 5-foot-10-inch kid mentions her play on a select basketball team. That's because she'd like to qualify for a basketball scholarship in college.

She also mentioned community service work. She helps her dad, Steve, coach "my little brother's basketball team at church." Her brother, Drew, is 10.

She also listed her volunteer work at St. Joe's Health Center and at her church.

The kids said their Pathfinder work helped their school win a recent honor. Saeger School last fall won the trophy in the 9th annual St. Charles County Career Awareness Fair.

That's an event where kids from St. Charles County schools meet area business people. They are judged on their appearance and professionalism.

Lauren said, "We Saeger kids had a dress code and others didn't. Also, the written resumes made us look much more professional."

You can learn more about Pathfinder by going to stlpathfinder.communityos.org. After clicking on Pathfinder, you then click on the Additional Resources circle at the bottom of the page. Then, click on St. Louis Pathfinder Resources.

A lot of information is free. But, parts of the website are only for paying members. For information on how your school could join, your teacher should call Rosanne Vrugtman at (314) 516-4349 or e-mail her at vrugtmanr@msx.umsl.edu.