Porterville Unified School District held their 13th annual Pathways Conference where more than 900 sophomore students packed into Porterville Church of the Nazarene to hear from some experts in their qualified field.
The conference began with Pathway ambassadors Sergio Baez, Ashtyn Perry, and Jareli Esteban welcoming all the students to Friday's conference, stating how they were once in their seats and now they are welcoming all of them to this year's conference.
Elyse Willis then took the stage to talk about her growth in her career and what it took to get her there. After Willis graduated from Granite Hills High School, she went to further her education at UCLA. Willis is now in her 14th season as a soprano with the Los Angeles Master Chorale, where she regularly performs at Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Hollywood Bowl.
Willis also shared about her work in TV shows and movies with WandaVision, Dr. Strange, Spiderman; No Way Home, Lala Land, Hocus Pocus 2, Wicked and more. Also sharing how she most recently shared the stage with Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande at the 2025 Oscars. After sharing her many work projects, Willis made a point to all of the students in attendance she had to “fail” to succeed.
Willis shared the time when she was at UCLA in the vocal performance program that it was a program that was focused on opera singing, then sharing how opera singing wasn’t necessarily what she wanted to do but no one ever asked her what she wanted to do. She eventually got kicked out of the program and when she got kicked out, she was told to her face she would never have a career.
Willis stated how this was a hard thing to hear from not just anybody but especially from her teacher whom she respected. Stating how since she didn’t fit their exact mold of what success was, “they didn’t know what to do with me so they just said goodbye.”.
“In their eyes, I failed but the important thing is that I kept going,” stated Willis. She continued to audition and learn to become a more well-rounded musician, as well as earning her teaching degree to better her teaching skills. “Know yourself and show yourself” was a piece of advice Willis gave to the students. Willis tried explaining how everyone is their own advocate and no one knows you better than you.
After Willis’ speech, Baez, Perry, and Esteban excused students to their designated conference rooms to hear from local business professionals talk about communication in the workplace. Students went with their designated Pathways to hear from local professionals.
During the last portion of the conference, former NFL tight-end and Ducor native Bear Pascoe shared his experience in his career while giving students advice. Pascoe attended Granite Hills High School. After he graduated from Fresno State University, shortly after he was selected by the San Francisco 49ers during the sixth round of the 2009 NFL draft.
After being released from the San Francisco 49ers, Pascoe went on to play with the New York Giants. In the 2011 season, Pascoe helped the New York Giants defeat the New England Patriots during the Super Bowl XLVI.
Pascoe began his speech to all of the 10th graders by explaining the “3Ps” planning, problem solving, and perseverance. These 3Ps all connect to having a plan when thinking about your career choice. Pascoe explained to students the purpose of having a plan when figuring out your career choice.
Point 1, create a crystal-clear outcome/goal. Point 2, create prioritized deadlines. Point 3, take action. Point 4, have hope even though hope isn't a strategy. Pascoe shared how he has met many high school students who are afraid to make a plan because they're afraid of the unknown. Pascoe mentioned to students the importance of having role models in your work field.
He shared how when he was in high school he looked up to David Carr who grew up in Bakersfield then went on to play for the New York Giants with Pascoe during their Super Bowl season. Pascoe went on to explain how important problem solving is when wanting to be successful, stating “if you want to be successful, you’re gonna need to learn how to problem solve.”.
To finalize his speech to the students, Pascoe shared the 8 steps of success. These included steps such as “every expert was a beginner” and “every professional was an amateur.” The last step was “any huge success is just a big stack of little wins.”
Before ending the conference, PUSD staff surprised the students with a zoom call from former NFL New York Giants tight-end and Pascoe’s best friend, Jake Ballard. For the last 10 minutes, Pascoe and Ballard took turns answering questions. When asked what's the best piece of advice they could leave the students with today Pascoe answered, “plan it all out, problem solve, persevere, and enjoy the process.” while Ballard answered ”it is OK to not know the answers to everything, you are allowed to make mistakes, do not put yourself in a box.”