On Career High by Pega6, host Jeremy Smith sits down with Jeff Linden, Principal of Hastings High School in Hastings, Nebraska, to explore what career-connected learning looks like in a practical, community-driven district. Jeff introduces Hastings as a blue-collar town of about 25,000 that supports three high schools, with Hastings High serving as the flagship campus in a district that includes five elementary schools, a middle school, and the high school.

Jeff shares his own leadership journey, from teaching and coaching across multiple Nebraska schools to serving eight years in the Army Reserves, before stepping into the principal role (now in his fourth year at Hastings). From there, he breaks down how Hastings High balances college prep with strong career and technical education, emphasizing that success should not be limited to one “correct” path. While college still matters, Jeff argues that industry careers are booming as baby boomers retire, creating real opportunities for students to earn, advance, and build stable lives—often faster and with less debt.

The conversation highlights Hastings High’s growing ecosystem of pathways and work-based learning: resume building, job shadowing, job exploration, paid internships, and community partnerships across healthcare, manufacturing, construction, finance, education, and more. Jeff explains how students move through exploration in junior year and into paid internships in senior year, using real experience to confirm what they want, or just as importantly, what they don’t want before spending money on postsecondary training.

Key Moments

06:20 Career Exploration Through Internships

09:25 Career Paths After High School

12:49 Building Education Pathways Early

15:02 "White-Collar Trade School Model"

19:20 "Passion for Free Education"

21:36 Career Pathways and Local Support

25:55 "Smarter Approach to College"

28:41 "PegasTech: College Alternative Launch"

Why You’ll Love This Episode

A grounded, no-hype look at how a real high school builds career pathways that match its local economy while still supporting college-bound students at a high level. You’ll hear what work-based learning actually looks like in practice, how paid internships help students make smarter decisions before taking on debt, and why the future belongs to schools that treat careers as options—not afterthoughts.

Connect with Jeff Linden | Principal, Hastings Public Schools
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/the-principal-jl
Company Website: https://hastingspublicschools.org/

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Career High By Pega6

Host: Jeremy Smith
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremyasmith

Pega6 Website: https://www.pega6.com/
Pega6 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/pega6/

About Career High By Pega6

Career High is the podcast that spotlights principals transforming high schools into launchpads for real-world success through career-connected learning, industry partnerships, and innovative pathways.

On Career High by Pega6, host Jeremy Smith speaks with Brian Riddick, Principal of Butler College Prep in Chicago and a founding staff member of the Noble Schools campus. Brian shares his 13-year journey at Butler, from founding English teacher to launching the school’s college team, and how that experience shaped his approach to helping students connect high school, college, and long-term careers with more clarity and purpose.

Brian explains that at Butler, college is the North Star. With “college” literally in the school’s name, the message starts early and stays consistent through freshman orientation, parent meetings, and ongoing student support. But Brian also emphasizes the importance of “threading” the conversation for students, helping them understand not just that they should go to college, but why it matters, how to make choices along the way, and how those choices connect to the real world.

The conversation dives into Butler’s approach to career exploration through early college seminar programming, strengths and interest assessments, and multiple internship pathways, including partnerships with Genesis Works, Urban Alliance, and a unique summer research internship with Northwestern School of Medicine focused on Alzheimer’s and dementia research in communities of color. Brian and Jeremy also discuss the practical tensions between college prep and career connected learning, including the reality that many students do not have the luxury of time and must think early about earning, debt, and employability.

Key Moments

04:39 "College and Career Readiness Focus"

07:08 Aligning Passions with Career Choices

12:33 "Student Internships and Career Skills"

14:54 "Success Looks Like Me" Origins

19:46 College Prep vs Career Readiness

21:42 "Preparing Students for Next Steps"

25:50 "Lessons from Post-Katrina New Orleans"

29:43 "Supporting Students Through Connections"

30:59 "Reflecting on 13 Years"

Why You’ll Love This Episode

A real look at what it takes to build college going culture while still honoring career realities. You’ll hear how a Chicago principal connects academics, internships, and life skills into a coherent pathway for students, and why alumni support and trust-building matter just as much as GPA and test scores.

Connect with Brian Riddick | Principal, Butler College Prep (Noble Schools campus)
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bjriddick
Company Website: https://nobleschools.org/butler/

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Career High By Pega6

Host: Jeremy Smith
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremyasmith

Pega6 Website: https://www.pega6.com/
Pega6 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/pega6/

About Career High By Pega6

Career High is the podcast that spotlights principals transforming high schools into launchpads for real-world success through career-connected learning, industry partnerships, and innovative pathways.

On NO ENTRY Level by Pega6, host Jeremy Smith sits down with Peter Ngai, Vice President of Engineering at SnapLogic, to unpack how early career talent is changing in an AI-powered world. Peter shares why roles like “architect” don’t really have an entry-level version and why accumulated wisdom, cross-functional collaboration, and business context matter as much as technical skill.

Jeremy and Peter explore how SnapLogic approaches early career hiring (often through master’s-level talent due to the complexity of its systems), and how AI is rapidly reshaping what “being job-ready” means. Peter describes the shift he’s seeing firsthand: the strongest new hires treat AI as an assistant, not a threat, moving faster, learning quicker, and building with a modern toolset that older generations may still resist.

The conversation then zooms out to the bigger future of software work. As coding becomes more “disposable” and experimentation gets easier, Jeremy argues we’ll see faster breakthroughs driven by more people building more things. Peter agrees, predicting that in five years, high-performing engineers will look more like orchestrators: AI-native builders who can guide complex systems, think like architects, and stay deeply aligned with the business outcomes the software exists to serve.

Key Moments

05:07 "Building Software in Teams"

09:19 "Early Career Mindset Insights"

12:30 Hiring Algorithms Complexity Explained

15:39 AI Tools Revolutionizing Development

19:00 "AI-First Mindset in Education"

20:48 "Mastering Modern Tools for Success"

24:01 "AI and Technological Disruption"

28:17 "Disposable Code Speeds Innovation"

32:19 "AI Builders as Future Architects"

33:50 "System Building Through Vibecoding"

Why You’ll Love This Episode

A grounded look at what AI is actually changing for early career engineers, and what it isn’t. You’ll hear how one VP of Engineering evaluates entry-level readiness, why AI-native fluency is becoming non-negotiable, and why the future of engineering is less about writing every line of code and more about orchestrating systems with an architect’s mindset.

Connect with Peter Ngai | Vice President of Engineering, SnapLogic
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterngai/
Company Website: https://www.snaplogic.com/

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NO ENTRY Level By Pega6

Host: Jeremy Smith
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremyasmith

Pega6 Website: https://www.pega6.com/
Pega6 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/pega6/

About NO ENTRY Level By Pega6

NO ENTRY Level is the podcast where the future of early career work gets real. Produced by Pega6, each episode features founders, operators, and talent leaders who are using AI, automation, and new hiring models to rethink what entry level roles look like and how to build teams that are ready for the jobs of tomorrow.