El Dorado High School students participated in a day that was completely future-focused during Future Fest on Mar. 3, 2026.
This exploratory event provided students with many hands-on opportunities to learn more about STEM fields, workforce skills, life planning, and military options. Juniors took the ACT during the morning. Seniors were able to schedule job shadows or college campus visits during the afternoon after working on their senior projects and attending Reality U during the morning.
Some session highlights included:
The Kansas National Guard: Students interacted with virtual job trainers, tried on some infantry gear, and learned that the Kansas National Guard would pay 100 percent of college tuition at any in-state college for those who join.
Future Maker Mobile Lab: Students met a robotic dog, used a 3D pen to create a tool, and explored the science of flight through a computer program.
Reality U: Students take a brief interest survey and are provided with a hypothetical job, income, and children. They must visit all of the stations of life such as utilities, insurance, housing, transportation, childcare, etc. to see if they can keep a balanced budget based on their life circumstances. This session is really eye-opening for some students who may not be cognizant of everything involved or the real cost of running a household.
Youth Employment Project (YEP) Stations: Students rotated between tables where they played a game to match employability skills with specific roles, practiced counting currency and coins, and used Virtual Reality to test out a variety of job tasks.
The day included time with guest speaker Warren Martin. He spoke to students about leadership, choices, character, and emphasized that you get out of life what you put into it. Our repeated choices become our habits. Those habits determine how other people perceive us, which means we do not choose our character – we can only make choices to change habits that lead to better character.
“Your choices determine what opportunities you have in life,” Martin said. “And your reward for making good choices and doing everything right is problems!”
He explained that problems are not a bad thing. In learning to solve problems, we become smarter and better human beings.
“If you view problems as obstacles, you will close yourself off to success,” Martin said. “Instead, look at them as an opportunity to make better choices. Your greatest opportunity to succeed is in facing your problems.”
Martin shared a story about a runner and his father to illustrate what great leadership looks like in action. He stressed that great leaders know the people around them and have the courage to speak into their lives and encourage them to solve problems instead of be defeated by them.
There were also presentations from Kansas Strong and Butler Community College. When not in one of the other sessions, students worked on their six-year plans and enrollment for next school year.