The game of life took center stage at GCP’s recent Passport to IT careers event.

Literally.

One of the centerpieces of the event was an interactive game - Passport to Opportunities - designed by GCP's Early Career Exploration team that helped make career paths and decisions concrete for the student attendees.

“The Passport to Opportunities game is a board game with a mobile companion app that helps students understand the opportunities and complexities of post high school education options,” explained Tom Miller, GCP's Senior Director of Early Career Exploration.

When it came time to design the app that went with the gameboard, the GCP Team turned to a local high school student, Joshua Ricciarelli, pictured above, a senior at John Marshall School of Information Technology.

“I learned so much doing this project,” says Ricciarelli. “First of all, I have never designed a game app before, so that was a learning experience. And playing the game and seeing all the different paths you can take in your career, and decisions you make, was educational, too.”

Photo: Opportunity Passport - High school students exploring their post-high education opportunities.

Held at the IX Center, this year’s event drew more than 700 high school students, giving them the opportunity to explore IT and technology career paths through hands-on activities and interactions with professionals from companies like Cleveland Clinic and Sherwin-Williams.

For students, the game – and Passport to IT - was an eye-opener.

“This event is transformative for our students, and the game helped really make possible career paths, tangible,” said Miller. “It not only introduces them to the breadth of opportunities in IT but also helps them see how their interests and skills can translate into real life.”

As for Ricciarelli, he didn’t win when he played the board game at the event, but he has winning plans for the future. He plans to attend university in the fall and study game design.

Top photo: Joshua Ricciarelli high school senior & Passport to Opportunity game app designer