September 22, 2026
Photos available for media use.
LANSING, Mich. – Following the success of its first MI Kickoff event, which brought more than 1,000 young men from 40 Michigan high schools to Ford Field in April, the Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential (MiLEAP) is partnering with five colleges and universities to bring college and career exploration opportunities to students across the state this fall. The regional series kicked off today at Ferris State University.
The regional MI Kickoff events will connect hundreds of high school freshmen and sophomores with higher education, workforce and career opportunities, helping students explore their interests, identify potential pathways and begin building a plan for life after high school. By bringing students onto college campuses and connecting them with people and programs that can help shape their futures, MiLEAP and its partners are expanding access to these opportunities closer to where students live and learn.
“Every student deserves the opportunity to see themselves in a future they can imagine and build,” said Dr. Beverly Walker-Griffea, executive director of MiLEAP. “By bringing MI Kickoff to communities across Michigan, we are meeting young men where they are, helping them discover possibilities they may not have considered and connecting them to the people, programs and pathways that can help turn those possibilities into a plan.”
Students will take part in hands-on career exploration workshops, receive guidance on FAFSA and scholarship applications and connect directly with college and university faculty and staff to build relationships that can help inform future enrollment decisions. Each event will feature activities showcasing various degree programs leading to high-wage, high-demand careers, including welding, health care, business and engineering.
“We want young men to have the information and connections they need to make informed decisions about what comes next,” said Jason Wilson, deputy director of MiLEAP’s Office of Strategic Talent Preparation. “These regional events bring those opportunities directly to students and give them a chance to explore college and career pathways before they leave high school.”
The regional events respond to a need to reach young men earlier and help them see a clear connection between their interests, education and futures. According to the MI Data Center, about 56% of young men enroll in college within one year of graduating high school, compared with 69% of young women. Women also earn nearly 60% of all degrees and certificates awarded in Michigan.
At Ferris State University, students will experience hands-on activities in various programs including mechatronics, electrical automation engineering technology, music and entertainment business management, plastics and more.
"Most of these students have never set foot on a college campus – that’s the barrier,” said Dr. Kasey Lynn Thompson, dean and professor in the College of Extended Studies at Ferris State University. “Once a ninth grader has stood in a welding lab or a pharmacy simulation and talked to someone doing that work, higher education stops being an abstraction and starts being an option. MiLEAP's goal for equitable postsecondary access aligned closely with our mission at Ferris State, and that shared understanding is what made an event of this scale possible."
Michigan has expanded access to postsecondary education and training through scholarships including the Michigan Achievement Scholarship, Community College Guarantee, Michigan Skills Scholarship and Michigan Reconnect. These programs connect students to tuition-free and reduced cost postsecondary and career training opportunities.
Connecting more young men with these opportunities supports Michigan’s bipartisan Sixty by 30 goal to increase the percentage of working-age adults with a postsecondary credential to 60% by 2030.
The regional MI Kickoff events will be held at the following colleges and universities:
MI Kickoff is part of MiLEAP’s broader response to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s Executive Directive 2025-2, which called for expanded outreach to Michigan men and stronger connections to postsecondary education and career training opportunities. The work builds on MiLEAP’s Moving Michigan Males Forward Convening and Men in Motion Summit, which brought education, workforce, business and community leaders together to identify barriers and explore strategies to strengthen pathways for men and boys.
To learn more, visit Michigan.gov/MiLEAP.
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About MiLEAP:
Established by Gov. Whitmer in 2023, MiLEAP ensures every Michigander has a path to prosperity from birth to earning a postsecondary credential that leads to high-wage careers. To learn more about MiLEAP, go to Michigan.gov/MiLEAP.
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