225BatonRouge.com

While out running errands, teachers Julie Scott and Kacy Edwards would constantly run into former students and always ask the inevitable question: “So, what are you doing now?”

Unfortunately, the answers they got were not ones they hoped to hear. Many of their students were resigned to work in fast-food restaurants or other minimum-wage jobs and rarely were doing what they really wanted.

For Scott, it happened again quite recently.

“I asked [a former student] what he was doing these days, and he started off by saying that he really wanted to be a chef but was working—I forget where. I think he said Taco Bell. I gave him my card and told him to call me. He is a perfect example of a kid who just doesn’t know what opportunities are out there.”

With more than 30 colleges, universities, technical and professional schools in Baton Rouge, Scott and Edwards say most students are just ignorant about the variety of options available to them. So they decided to change careers and do something about it.

They formed Career Compass of Louisiana, a non-profit organization to help students from East Baton Rouge Parish. It was a switch years in the making.

Both women taught social studies at Tara High School for eight years and grew tired of watching their students leave high school with dreams unfulfilled.

They started simply, squeezing in the role of life coach between classes, giving up free periods and lunch hours to help students research scholarships, download college applications and even fill out ACT packets.

They even offered up their credit and debit cards, in return for cash, to help the students pay for application and registration fees, since many of the students’ parents didn’t have credit cards or checking accounts to complete registration over the Internet.

“It’s really about putting them in a position for success,” Edwards says. “People are shocked when we tell them how little help some of these kids get. They go home to a mess. There’s no one asking them if they’ve filled out their college application or signed up for the ACT. They just need a little hand-holding.”

Scott and Edwards resigned from the East Baton Rouge Parish School System after the 2005-06 school year to start their own Career Compass.

Their nonprofit recently received a $50,000 grant from the Baton Rouge Area Foundation. It’s a major boost, but divide the grant by two, and Scott and Edwards still aren’t making the salary they earned as public school teachers, not to mention all of the operating costs they incur.

“We basically took a leap of faith,” Scott says. “Our only hindrance is funding. There are a lot of people and businesses in community that believe in what we are doing. Now we are saying to them—show us the money.”

Career Compass also received a vendor permit from the local school system and will be a daily presence at Woodlawn and Broadmoor high schools, where the former teachers are piloting their program. Students can visit their booth during lunch period to ask questions and get help filling out daunting paperwork.

Their services, however, are not limited to students at these two schools. Scott and Edwards are eager to help any student—in a public or private school—find the path to success. They don’t want anything to deter students from reaching their full potential. The duo has helped students apply for fee waivers, worked with financial aid offices to assist in tuition and even solved transportation problems by helping students find opportunities along their bus route.

“We’ve basically become advocates for the students of East Baton Rouge,” Scott says. “These kids can change the face of this parish. It’s really an investment in the future of the city.”

For details on the program or to contact Scott or Edwards, visit

careercompassla.org.