The U.S. Department of Education launched the "I Am What I Learn" video contest. Open to active middle, secondary, or college students, entrants can submit videos up to 2 minutes in length exploring why their education is important to their future.

Your former Career Choices students have the talking points for their own videos already outlined in their 10-year plans, so encourage them to enter. There are three $1,000 prizes available.

For details, visit the U.S. Department of Education web site.

Are you a fan of Career Choices on Facebook? Become one this week and you, too, can enter our first Facebook contest.

We are asking fans to tell us -- in 400 words or less -- why they think it's important for students to have a 10-year plan. The winning response will be featured in next month's newsletter, and the Career Choices fan who penned it will receive a $25 Target gift card.

Contest details and submission guidelines are available on the Career Choices Facebook page. Submissions are due by October 9, and the winner will be announced on Monday, October 12, along with four runners-up (who will each receive a $5 Starbucks gift card).

So, join today...and good luck!

Earlier this year, we launched a new workshop, and the 1,100+ educators who've participated in this professional development opportunity so far have given it such high marks that we're bringing it to nearly 40 new cities.

We know you already understand the dropout problem; this workshop is designed to provide you with practical and proven solutions!

You'll gain incredible insights and discover resources to ensure the success of your dropout prevention program. You'll also receive a set of the nationally-acclaimed Career Choices curriculum. Providing a comprehensive, step-by-step course with exemplary scope and sequence, Career Choices guides students through a process that culminates in the development of a personalized 10-year career-inclusive education plan, as recommended by the Freshman Transition Initiative at The George Washington University.

You won't want to miss this powerful workshop. Visit our web site for dates and locations, then check your schedule and register soon!

We know it can be difficult to fully convey the potential of My10yearPlan.com to your planning team, so we've created something to help you better explain the power of this online planning tool.

You can now access a PDF of a sample student's completed My10yearPlan.com pages that you can print and use to create a sample career portfolio notebook, like the one outlined in the Workbook and Portfolio, pages 125-129. Having something to flip through and review will give your stakeholders a more concrete understanding of the power behind the 10-year plan.

Download the sample career portfolio.