TOLEDO – May 1 marked a major milestone for high school seniors across the country. Known as College Decision Day, it’s the deadline for students to accept admission offers from most colleges and universities, a moment often celebrated as the start of what is next.
But what about the seniors who don’t know what is coming next?
This question has driven Jim Pollock, president of Junior Achievement of Northwest Ohio, for decades. Five years ago, he and his team began developing 5th Year, a post-graduation transition program designed to support students who feel unsure about their future.
“I am the kid who, a long time ago, graduated from high school not knowing what I was doing, not having a clear direction and following the herd like everybody else … wandering off to college and mostly failing my way through school, and then ending up with a degree I don’t use,” Pollock admitted.
Pollock’s experience shaped his passion for creating an alternative that gives students time, guidance and real-world exposure before making life-changing decisions.
“There needed to be a better way for students to transition from high school to their next phase of life. Whatever it is, whether it’s the military or college or the workforce, there’s better opportunities,” he said.
The 5th Year program is a structured, nine-month experience that connects recent high school graduates with professional development, career exploration and mentorship from local companies and organizations. The goal is to prepare students to lead independent lives and confidently pursue their personal and professional aspirations.
“If you give a kid a chance and you put them in the right place and meet the right people, great things happen,” Pollock said.
Those “great things” were on display May 7, when the Glass City Center hosted the celebration of 5th Year’s inaugural class. Students from across Northwest Ohio crossed the stage, not only as graduates of the program, but as part of a growing network of future-ready young adults.
Pollock called it the “proudest moment of his life,” watching both the outgoing and incoming classes step into their next chapters, and backed by corporate, nonprofit and education partners.
Ocean Hayes, a Perrysburg High School senior, is one of 30 students in this year’s incoming 5th Year class. She said she applied because she was not sure what she wanted to do after graduation. The support the program offers felt like exactly what she needed.
“I just didn’t really know what I wanted to do or what my future had in store for me,” Hayes said. “But what the program had to offer really inspired me to join.”
For her, the most exciting part is the chance to gain hands-on experience with internships, something she has never done before. Still, the transition is not without its nerves.
“Making connections and meeting new people, I feel like [that] is definitely nerve-wracking. Not knowing a whole lot of people definitely can make you nervous, but I feel like for the most part, it’ll be all right.”
That same uncertainty, and hope, was exactly what Aubrey Edens, also a Perrysburg High School alumna, felt when she joined 5th Year as part of the program’s inaugural class.
Now, just one year later, her life looks entirely different.
She originally hoped to attend cosmetology school but cost was a barrier. She considered taking a gap year, until she found out about 5th Year.
“I’m like, wow, I can visit so many different companies throughout the year. I can move out of my parent’s house for a year. I can start my journey. I can possibly get a full-time job from this, and then I can go to cosmetology school after,” Edens said.
That is not quite how things turned out, but in the best possible way. After interning at Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick with the 5th Year program, Edens was offered a full-time position as a legal administrative assistant. Cosmetology is still on the table, but now as a long-term side goal.
“I absolutely love where I am now,” Edens said, “and I absolutely had no idea this was where I was going to be. That’s awesome.”
Beyond the job offer, Edens said the program helped her grow as a person.
“I was so quiet before I joined 5th Year,” Edens said. “The best thing I learned, and the most I’ve changed, is you need to go up to everybody and talk to everybody because you never know who you’re in a room with, and you never know who you might meet and how you can help them and how they can help you.”
Her advice to Hayes and the rest of the new class? Dive in.
“You definitely get out of it what you put into it,” Edens said. “If you do the extra things, if you go up and talk to people, if you go and speak on stage and do all of those different things, you are going to get so much more out of that.”
She added one last note for those watching from the outside: “If you don’t join 5th Year, invest in it, because it’s the best thing happening right now.”
Pollock agrees. In today’s economy, where many students graduate without a clear path and employers struggle to fill roles, 5th Year aims to bridge the gap.
