Difference Maker: Ellen Sirico

By Cam Dole: Senior Manager of Youth Engagement

At some point in every student’s life, they will have the “what’s next?” question. Each youth gets to decide their decision with this extremely open-ended question. One student may be ready to map out college applications, another student has no idea what comes after graduation, and another kid is excited about welding school, a summer job, or a two-year apprenticeship. For this reason, Ellen Sirico (Ms. Ellen) gets to offer opportunities and support to youth taking their next big steps. These seniors have a variety of plans and awareness, and it’s up to Ellen and the postsecondary learning and career readiness team to offer as much as possible. Somehow, in between career fairs, job shadows, college tours, scholarships, certifications, and nonstop conversations, Ellen helps students figure out their path, and makes every single one of them feel like their path matters. 

A legend in her role, Ellen has been supporting ECSD students for 13 years, with her last six based out of Eagle Valley High School focused on post-secondary learning and career readiness.  Her office, the ‘futures’ area’, feels less like a formal workspace and more like a launchpad. Students wander in and out constantly, asking questions they sometimes don’t even know how to phrase yet. Ellen meets them where they are. One minute she’s connecting a student with an internship or industry certification that could completely change their future. The next, she’s helping someone realize that crossing even one thing off their post-high-school checklist is a victory worth recognizing.

The funny thing is, Ellen never expected to have this kind of impact. She talks openly with students about not knowing exactly what she wanted to do after high school herself, and that honesty is part of why students trust her. She understands the pressure young people feel to have their entire lives figured out before graduation, and she pushes back against it every chance she gets. Instead, she focuses on exposure of opportunities and future potentials for students. She believes opportunities create confidence, and confidence helps individuals grow into themselves organically over time. Some of the ways that Ms. Ellen helps to introduce new doors and pathways to students are: arranging visits from guest speakers, coordinating workplace experiences, finding/creating trade school open houses, organizing job fairs (that the whole community rallies behind), college visits, and conversations with adults who took unexpected paths to end up where they are today. 

What keeps Ellen energized isn’t just the programs or events. It’s the moments afterward. Seeing and reconnecting with former students during college tours or seeing them in their workplace. Watching teenagers slowly realize they are capable of more than they thought. Hearing students share random stories, ideas, worries, and dreams in the middle of an ordinary school day. For Ellen, this work is deeply personal. It’s her way of giving back to a community she loves. And in a place like Eagle County where businesses, schools, and community partners genuinely show up for young people, she believes students should hear one message over and over again: your future does not have to look like anyone else’s to be meaningful.

Ms. Ellen calls on adults in the community to share their career path stories with students. She notes that “Everyone has such a unique way they came into our community and I think it’s important to share and realize that career or educational path may change and that is okay”. She can be found hanging out on the trails or spending time with her family and friends. Ellen is always searching for additional opportunities that can be offered to youth, she brings joy and energy to any meeting, and Eagle County is so lucky to have her!