Peering into a powerful compound light microscope at a glass slide smeared with staph bacteria, Majuma Omar could see her future.
“This is amazing,” the sophomore at Milwaukee High School of the Arts said. “I could get used to looking at this kind of stuff all day long.”
Omar was one of nearly 1,500 sophomores from 20 Milwaukee Public Schools high schools who came to Milwaukee Area Technical College on Thursday, March 19, to get information about careers and educational opportunities.
The event, called Explore Your Future, was organized by M-Cubed, an innovative collaboration between MATC, MPS and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Its goals include ensuring student success, meeting the needs of the region’s business and industry, and improving the well-being of Wisconsin residents, their families and communities.
Read about the 2025 event and the 2024 event.
On Thursday, students explored an array of career opportunities at all four MATC campuses: from animation and automotive technician at the Downtown Milwaukee Campus, to physical therapy assistant at the Mequon Campus, fire science at the Oak Creek Campus, and welding at the West Allis Campus.
Dr. Phillip King, MATC’s executive vice president and provost, told students at the Downtown Milwaukee Campus that he considered numerous careers when he was young. “There was architecture, there was photography, there was psychology,” Dr. King said. “It doesn’t matter if you don’t know yet. The great news is that you don’t have to take this journey alone.”
Dr. King urged the students to ask questions on their tours, begin building networks, talk to teachers and stay engaged with MATC. “We’d love to see you all back here in a few years,” he said.
At the college’s Downtown Campus, Omar peered into the microscope while exploring MATC’s Medical Laboratory Technician program, which prepares students to perform a wide range of laboratory tests that aid in the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of diseases.
The starting salary for laboratory technicians today is between $24 and $30 per hour, said Joelle Pietrzak, the program’s instructional chair. “It’s a nice field to be in,” she said. “There are so many things you can get into. You’ll never be bored.”
In the Baking and Pastry Arts classroom, students watched instructors Kurt Fogle and Andrew Schneider whip up dainty pastries topped with toasted meringue and fresh fruit pancakes.
“I don’t know if I could do this,” said Dillon Ham, a student at Milwaukee Hamilton High School. “I’d eat everything I made.”
In the Al Hurvis/PEAK Transportation Center, students used a pneumatic wrench to remove the lug nuts on the college’s PEAK high-performance race car. They also heard about in-demand automotive careers that can pay up to $50 an hour.
In the Baber/Cosmetology classrooms, students learned how to hold a straight razor and how to use cutting-edge technology to examine the scalps of customers. “We are all about the importance of safety and sanitation,” said Julie Stubenrauch, a cosmetology instructor.
Thaysoe Paw, a student at Pulaski High School, was fascinated by the artificial latex arm used by the Phlebotomy program. “When I press down on it, it feels like a bicycle tire,” she said with a laugh. “If I was drawing blood from someone, I’d be afraid their arm would pop.”
These tours give students early exposure to the college’s 180 programs and can help them make informed decisions about their future, said Nutan Amrute, MATC’s manager of student career, employment and transfer.
“This is all about getting these students to start thinking about not only what they want to do, but hopefully, what they will love to do,” Amrute said.
About MATC: Wisconsin’s largest technical college and one of the most diverse two-year institutions in the Midwest, Milwaukee Area Technical College is a key driver of southeastern Wisconsin’s economy and has provided innovative education in the region since 1912. More than 35,000 students per year attend the college’s four campuses and community-based sites or learn online. MATC offers affordable and accessible education and training opportunities that empower and transform lives in the community. The college offers more than 180 academic programs — many that prepare students for jobs immediately upon completion and others that provide transfer options leading to bachelor’s degrees with more than 45 four-year colleges and universities. Overwhelmingly, MATC graduates build careers and businesses in southeastern Wisconsin. The college is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.
About M-Cubed: M-Cubed seeks to transform the future of Milwaukee through education. By collaborating, coordinating and partnering, MPS, MATC and UWM will increase the retention, graduation and career success of our students and provide a prepared workforce and citizenry for Wisconsin and its economy. M³ will also provide the education and resources to help drive an entrepreneurial mindset for all students to increase choices and opportunities for growth.