Survey results show youth want to stay near hometown

Challenge of employment, owning a business identified as concerns

CHEYENNE COUNTY -- High school students were recently surveyed on future plans, would they  stay in or near their home town, and why?

The results might surprise some people.

Not all students want to leave their hometown. Some teens are asking the same question their adult counterparts are: what opportunities to work, and to build my own business, are available. 

Students of Sidney, Leyton and Potter-Dix schools recently completed the Western Nebraska Teen Opportunities Survey. More than 400 Sidney students completed the survey. The survey included questions like "Have you participated in a community volunteering activity?" "What changes would you like to see that would make your community a better place to live?" and "If quality career or business ownership opportunities were available, how likely is it that you would prefer to stay in this area to live after high school?" 

Almost 34 percent of Sidney students who answered the survey said they would be somewhat likely to stay in the Sidney area. Leyton students sixth through ninth grade answered the survey. According to the results, about 78 percent of students would stay in the Dalton-Gurley area after high school if they had business or employment opportunities. Potter-Dix students grades 7-11; 46.30 percent are planning on attending a 4-year college, a little more than 36 percent of students surveyed would return to the Potter-Dix area if they had work or business opportunities, and  agriculture or ag-related industries are the primary interest.

"I was surprised to see just the amount of encouragement for students to maybe take a non-traditional path to education. There's only I believe 53 percent of students that want to go to a four-year traditional college after school. So, there's a lot of different things I think we can be doing to foster more non-traditional paths to education. That's why I'm encouraged to see the focus on entrepreneurship. We actually saw on the survey that 47 percent of students have an interest in owning their own business in the future," said Sarah Sinnett, a member of the local E3 committee. 

She said the survey affirms efforts to look at education from different views. Success doesn't always require an extensive degree; just the right skills.

"And so that's really exciting because this year we're launching our first youth entrepreneurship competition at the high school, so hopefully this will give students a hands-on experience to be able to launch their own business one day," she said.

A high school entrepreneurship competition will be held at Sidney High School December 8.