Waukee High School’s Foundations of Insurance and Actuarial Science Aspiring Professional Experience (APEX) course created a district-wide safety campaign, Wauk Like a Warrior, to reduce the number of slip, trips and falls this winter.
Wauking like a Warrior involves avoiding cell phone use, paying attention, keeping your hands free, wearing appropriate footwear and shortening your strides. APEX students worked with Waukee Community School District’s CFO, Lora Appenzeller-Miller, and the district’s workers compensation provider, SFM Insurance to create and implement the campaign.
“Safety is a top priority for our district. We don’t want our employees, students or visitors getting hurt on the ice. This campaign was a fun way to remind everyone of the safety precautions that can help prevent serious injuries,” Appenzeller-Miller said.
Students created an instructional video, building specific posters that display the ‘Kees to Safety,’ established employee expectations and implemented an email tracking system to measure awareness.
“By spreading awareness and creating expectations of how to be safe on snow and ice, we hope to reduce the number of accidents in the district,” said senior Evan Dosedel.
The course received a $1,800 grant from SFM to purchase the necessary licenses for Adobe Sign, that will allow the course to track the number of Waukee Community School District employees who view the campaign materials and sign the online pledge to be safe and Wauk like a Warrior.
“We set up an educational tool that informs employees of the district’s expectations and we hope every employee looks over our tools and tips to stay safe this winter,” Dosedel said.
The Foundations of Insurance and Actuarial Science APEX students apply their learning to real-world opportunities. This experience, along with guest speakers and learning fundamental concepts, allows students to explore possible career opportunities in the insurance industry.
“This course has provided the opportunity for me to gain experience working with business professionals, being a project lead and speaking publicly as we presented our work and grant money to the school board,” Dosedel said.
