Our Mission
Trinity Together: A Cradle to Career Partnership strives to create a thriving, prosperous Trinity County that supports successful futures for all residents. It is our mission to bridge opportunity gaps by empowering people with resources, advocating for and implementing educational services, kindling hope for the future, and leveraging partnerships with a collective impact approach.
College and Career Exploration and Preparation
Paxton Patterson: Paxton Patterson is a learning system designed to help students explore their interests and prepare for post-secondary education and careers through College & Career Ready Labs. The labs offer hands-on, problem-based learning experiences and real-world technology. Trinity Together provides equipment, training, and support to schools who would like to engage their students in the following fields: Health Science, Dentistry, Alternative Energy, Flight and Drone Technology, Electrical Wiring, Video Production, Sports Medicine, and Veterinary Medicine.
Career Readiness Series: The Trinity Together team specializes in preparing students for successful transitions into the workforce or postsecondary education. With a deep understanding of career development and industry expectations, the team designs and delivers engaging programming that helps youth build real-world skills and confidence.
College and Career Exploration: In collaboration with Shasta College, Health & Human Services and the SMART Center, Trinity Together hosts the College & Career Expo annually. In 2025 the event connected 40 potential employees to 300 attendees of all ages with career training programs and employment opportunities. A workforce panel of Trinity County home-grown professionals shared their career pathway journey and tips for success. This event is free to the public.
Contact: Chief Program Coordinator, Joy Thompson: joy@thewatershedcenter.com
Field Trips to Higher Education: The Trinity Together team can organize and facilitate meaningful site visits to community colleges, universities and tech schools. Focus areas can include specific career pathways, departments, programs or a comprehensive tour of the facilities and supports available to learners interested in higher education.
Contact: Program Associate, Bob Cunningham: bob@thewatershedcenter.com
Work-Based Learning
Internship: Learners in Trinity County can be connected to industry partners willing to facilitate internship learning opportunities within their organization. This allows students hands-on experience that heightens their resume and workforce readiness. Internships can vary from 4 weeks to one year.
Job Shadow: For learners still exploring their industry and career interests, a job shadow opportunity provides the opportunity for real-life experience that can help shape future decisions. Job shadow opportunities can vary from hours to multiple days.
Paid Work Experience: In education and healthcare industries, learners can connect to paid work experience while concurrently enrolled in a industry, credit-bearing course. This paid work experience meant to increase their depth of knowledge for their career, as well as ready them for workforce expectations in the selected arena.
Pathway Mapping, Mentoring & Guidance: Trinity Together Program Associates are well equipped to guide learners through various pathway options to reach their desired employment goals. Trinity Together associates will link learners to local, regional, or national options and map out possible pathways to reach the learners’ desired goals.
Contact: Chief Program Coordinator, Joy Thompson: joy@thewatershedcenter.com
Educator Instructional Supports
Science-based teacher upskilling: Due to the incredible science-related career opportunities, and high needs industries such as healthcare, Trinity Together can provide “ready to go” science experiences in the classroom, always with a career emphasis, and hands-on learning. Most learning experiences can be adjusted to grade-level needs. Lesson plans are modeled by the Trinity Together instructor, reviewed and passed on to the classroom teacher for future use. Trinity Together is eager to support educators in building enthusiasm in the sciences.
Contact: Program Associate, Bob Cunningham: bob@thewatershedcenter.com
California College Guidance Initiative (CCGI): Through the support of current K–16 Education Collaborative Grant Funding, the Trinity Together team supports the implementation of CCGI, a college and career readiness tool used in CA schools. In collaboration with the Trinity County Office of Education, Trinity Together associates are available to assist classroom teachers with implementation and enhanced use of this valuable tool.
Contact: Chief Program Coordinator, Joy Thompson: joy@thewatershedcenter.com
