Cashmere High School Career Day brings hometown paths back into the classroom

CASHMERE — The bell didn’t signal a single lesson at Cashmere High School on March 27. It signaled choices, as classroom doors opened and students moved on set schedules from one career to the next.

Students followed assigned rotations, each classroom offering a full presentation, a focused look at one profession at a time.

But across the building, the bigger picture came into view in pieces.

A fisheries biologist in one room. A state trooper in another. A contractor talking through the future of the trades down the hall. For those stepping in and out of classrooms, the day unfolded less like a single lesson and more like a mosaic of working lives.

Career Day at Cashmere High School wasn’t about one path. It was about seeing how many there are, often through people who once sat in the same desks.

Many of the presenters were Cashmere graduates or parents of current students, returning to share what their careers had become.

Katy Shelby, a CHS parent and fisheries biologist with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, described a career that has taken her from marine research stations in Chile to salmon monitoring in North Central Washington. Her work now focuses on tracking fish populations across the Wenatchee Basin, blending field science with long-term environmental stewardship.

In another classroom, Jordan Moser, a Cashmere alum and contractor with Ironwood Customs, spoke about construction and the skilled trades, where opportunity is accelerating as older workers retire faster than they are replaced.

For students willing to learn and stick with it, he said, the path can move quickly, from entry-level work to leadership, even business ownership, in just a few years.

That same outlook carried into the wood shop, where Josh Potter, a CHS alum and parent working with Spyder Industries, talked through the range of roles within fabrication, from welding to full project assembly, and the value of hands-on experience.

Across the building, a common message emerged: the trades are not shrinking, they are opening.

Different rooms, different paths, but the same underlying pitch: there is more than one way to build a life here.

Wyatt Brown, a Cashmere graduate now working as a land surveyor, told students that many people have never even heard of his field. That lack of awareness, he said, has created strong demand and solid earning potential for those who enter it.

Healthcare offered a different kind of path.

Cassidy Boyd and Kandace Brunner, both CHS alumni, spoke about nursing as a career built on both technical knowledge and human connection, one that requires problem-solving, adaptability and emotional resilience in high-pressure environments. They emphasized not just the work, but the importance of balance and self-care in a demanding field.

Science and food systems came into focus in another classroom, where Sena Wheeler, a CHS parent and nutrition and food scientist, described the process of taking a recipe from a home kitchen and scaling it into something that can be produced in a manufacturing facility, a shift that requires both creativity and precision.

Public service was represented by Trooper Ryan Michael, a Cashmere graduate with the Washington State Patrol, who outlined a path into law enforcement that can begin shortly after high school. He described a role that extends beyond traffic enforcement, centered on communication, responsibility and helping others in difficult moments.

Not every presenter had a direct tie to the school, but their work still intersected with students’ daily lives.

Cassidy Miller, the Cashmere School District’s transportation director, walked through the complex network behind getting students to and from school safely, from regulatory requirements and driver certification to coordination with state agencies and road conditions.

Elsewhere, Daniel and Omar Acero, parents of Cashmere students and owners of Agave Azul, described the realities of running a local restaurant, from sourcing ingredients to managing staff and maintaining compliance, all while staying rooted in the community they serve.

Marissa and JR Reynolds of Reynolds Family Media brought an entrepreneurial perspective, talking about building a business through multiple income streams and adapting to the uncertainties of creative work.

Their message, like many others throughout the day, focused less on a single job and more on building something sustainable over time.

For students, the structure of the day provided depth. For those moving between rooms, the takeaway was breadth.

Some careers required degrees. Others relied on certifications, apprenticeships or on-the-job training. Some offered stability. Others required risk and self-direction.

All of them, in their own way, pointed back to the same idea: there isn’t one road out of high school.

There are dozens.

And inside Cashmere High School, students spent the day stepping into them, one classroom at a time, seeing not just what they could do, but who they might become — often guided by people who once sat in those same classrooms.

Andrew Simpson: 509-433-7626 or andrew@ward.media