McCook High School’s Bison Days has been around for nearly a decade but there are still people who a) have never heard of it; b) want to be part of it but don't know how to get involved; or c) don’t understand exactly what the program is.

Held over two full school days in the third quarter to break the winter doldrums, Bison Days brings freshmen through seniors at the high school together with community members to learn about topics they typically cannot learn in school. 

Yet over the course of just a few hours on the second Bison Day earlier this week, I had three different people ask me how the sessions I was leading related to professional development, ie. how the kids would develop an occupation from our time together.

Jobs are important. There are several stories about McCook students being introduced to a career during Bison Days and going into that profession after graduating from high school. 

We never know when a student might learn about a career they didn’t know existed and it piques their interest and they become employed and they stay in McCook. 

But almost just as important are the other ideas and programs the students are introduced to which include new skills, hobbies and interests presented by volunteers in the community. 

The students get to select a class that sparks their interest. Hopefully they take something that gets them out of their comfort zone. They may even end up with a project to take home, a painting or decorated cookie.

Bison Days also benefits the school staff. Many lead sessions about their outside interests, showing the students that their teachers are people too. And it gives the teachers a chance to get to know their students outside the regular classroom.

And perhaps most importantly, the program highlights some of the opportunities available in our community. So often we hear “There is nothing to do here” from students as well as adults, but Bison Days shows that isn’t true. From ice fishing to bowling, pie making to auto repair, more than 70 different courses proves that statement untrue. 

Another frequent question is what the most popular session is each year. That is tough to gauge because each class allows a different number of participants. But my guess is that pickleball ranks near the top with four sessions with each hosting 16 students and it is always filled up. I can’t say for sure but I wonder if instructors Mike, Christie, Cathy and Dale are bribing with chocolate but it is more like that the kids just miss recess and pickleball is a fun sport.

I suggested the involvement of candy because food is another popular draw for sessions. The seniors get to choose their schedule first and anything with food fills up quickly. Not all of these kids are going into food service so it is more likely that making your own pie, cooking a steak or preparing a bowl of pasta is the main draw. And I know this from experience as my daughter ended up with three “food” sessions her senior year, yet never worked in a restaurant during high school. 

Perhaps, the most gratifying comment came as my husband and I finished our session at Red Willow Lake on Tuesday morning. The kids had hiked the trails on both sides of the lake, studied the exposed parts of the diversion dam, got up-close-and-personal with Darrell Meister’s bison herd and rode the trails using the bicycles in the Youth Change Reaction’s bike loan shed. As they finished their s’mores around the campfire, one student commented that he couldn’t wait to come back with dad and ride bikes on the trails. 

In the end, Bison Days is showing our students - and our community - all the fun things there are to do here, all the different job opportunities, and all the great people making McCook an even better place to call home.