Hands-On Career Exploration at Kairos: A Day at Heru Urban Farming
Getting their hands dirty (literally) and exploring what's next.
Kairos high schoolers just wrapped up a Next Prep field trip to Heru Urban Farming–an urban farm bringing organic, locally grown produce to St. Louis. The day gave students something a classroom alone can't: real, hands-on career exploration alongside working professionals in agriculture, culinary arts, and community engagement.
What Hands-on Career Exploration Looks Like at Kairos
Next Prep is built on a simple idea: students shouldn't just hear about a career–they should step into it. At Heru, that meant learning how a working farm actually runs day-to-day, from harvesting tomatoes and cleaning arugula to tilling fields and watering crops. Students also got a behind-the-scenes look at how Heru builds vendor relationships across the city–including with the St. Louis Zoo.
It's this kind of hands-on career exploration that helps students move from "that sounds interesting" to "I could actually see myself doing this."
In Naomi's Words
We caught up with Naomi, a Kairos high schooler, who told us exactly what the day meant to her:
"I'm a very hands-on, outdoorsy person. I like to get my hands dirty and get in the dirt. Our Next Prep trip to Heru Farms was just making the little kid in me very happy. I felt at home there."
Naomi's already connecting the experience to her future: "I do want to do something that involves farm work and stuff like that, or just being outside, getting my hands dirty, and just feeling at peace while I work."
The Lesson That Stuck
Beyond the fun of the day, Naomi walked away with something more lasting:
"Stuff gets very hard. You don't want to just give up right away if you can't get it. It takes practice, multiple trials and errors. Don't be afraid to get your hands dirty."
It's a lesson that applies far beyond a farm field–and it's exactly the kind of takeaway Next Prep is designed to build.
Her Advice to Other Students
Naomi had this to say to fellow Kairos students choosing their own Next Prep trips:
"Take advantage of these trips that they give us because it's definitely going to make the moment better. You'll look back on it and think 'hey, I got to do that, I remember doing that.' And you're going to take that with you for the rest of your life."
Why It Matters
This is what hands-on career exploration through Next Prep is all about–giving students real experiences with real professionals so they can build a concrete plan for their future, one they actually believe in.
Applications Open October 1st
If you want your student to have days like this: ones that shape not just what they know, but who they're becoming–Kairos is where that starts. Applications for new students open October 1st.
