Meet the iLevelUP Trail Guides

iLevelUP Trail Guides for College, Careers, Money, Confidence, and Life Skills

The iLevelUP Trail Guides are student-friendly characters that make future-readiness topics easier to explore. Each guide focuses on a practical area students can revisit with educators, mentors, families, and community partners.

Choose a Trail Guide and Start Exploring

Each guide supports a different part of future readiness. Open a guide below to see the resources, reflection prompts, and next steps they help students practice.

Trekker the Yak:Your Personal Growth Guide

“Confidence grows one step at a time. Start where you are and keep moving.”

Trekker helps students build confidence, reflect on their strengths, set realistic goals, and practice habits that support school, work, and life.

What this guide helps students practice:

Confidence-building activities that help students name strengths and next steps

Stress-management and planning habits students can use before big decisions

Time-management tools for school, work, applications, and daily routines

Healthy routines that support learning, focus, and follow-through

Use Trekker to build confidence and choose a next step that feels doable.

WHEN TREKKER HELPS:

Use Trekker when students feel stuck, overwhelmed, or unsure where to begin. Trekker breaks big goals into smaller next steps and helps students notice the strengths they already have.

Canyon the Fox:Your Career Scout

“Your future can have more than one path. Canyon helps you compare the options.”

Canyon helps students explore career interests, connect strengths to real pathways, and learn what different jobs, credentials, and industries may require.

What this guide helps students practice:

Career-interest activities that help students notice what they enjoy and do well

Job, industry, and salary exploration using credible career information

Major and program exploration connected to possible future goals

Goal-setting prompts that turn career ideas into practical next steps

Use Canyon to explore career options and connect interests to possible pathways.

WHEN CANYON HELPS:

Use Canyon when students feel unsure about career direction, college majors, job options, credentials, or how their strengths might connect to future opportunities.

Cash the Raccoon:Your Money Basics Guide

“Paying for education is easier to understand when the steps are clear.”

Cash helps students learn FAFSA basics, scholarship search habits, college-cost terms, and money skills they can use before and after graduation.

What this guide helps students practice:

Scholarship-search steps, deadlines, and application planning

FAFSA and financial-aid basics explained in plain language

Essay and short-answer planning tips for scholarship applications

Budgeting basics for school, work, transportation, and everyday choices

Use Cash to understand financial-aid basics, scholarships, and money habits.

WHEN CASH HELPS:

Use Cash when students are trying to understand financial aid, look for scholarships, compare costs, or build money habits that make future plans feel less intimidating.

Taiga the Hare:Your Activity Planner

“The activities students choose can help them discover who they are becoming.”

Taiga helps students explore extracurriculars, service, sports, hobbies, arts, faith-based groups, part-time jobs, and leadership opportunities that fit their interests.

What this guide helps students practice:

Activity exploration that helps students find options that match their interests

Leadership, service, and volunteer ideas students can try locally

Ways to turn interests, responsibilities, and part-time work into growth stories

Reflection prompts for explaining activities in applications and interviews

Use Taiga to get involved and connect activities to future goals.

WHEN TAIGA HELPS:

Use Taiga when students want to get involved, try something new, build leadership experience, or explain how activities outside class connect to their future goals.

Crag the Goat:Your College Planning Guide

“College planning gets easier when students can see the path step by step.”

Crag helps students explore college options, compare programs, understand admissions steps, and plan next actions with support from trusted adults.

What this guide helps students practice:

College-search steps that compare fit, cost, location, and support

Admissions and application planning broken into manageable tasks

Questions students can ask counselors, mentors, families, and colleges

Ways to compare two-year, four-year, certificate, and training pathways

Use Crag to make college planning clearer and easier to discuss.

WHEN CRAG HELPS:

Use Crag when students are comparing schools, learning application steps, preparing questions, or deciding which education pathway might fit their goals.

Carver the Beaver:Your Career Readiness Guide

“Future-ready skills are built by practicing small, useful steps.”

Carver helps students practice resumes, interviews, workplace habits, communication, and planning skills that support jobs, internships, and volunteer roles.

What this guide helps students practice:

Resume and experience-building prompts students can update over time

Interview preparation and practice questions for common situations

Workplace communication, follow-through, and problem-solving habits

Planning steps for jobs, internships, volunteering, and career exposure

Use Carver to practice the skills students need for work and opportunity.

WHEN CARVER HELPS:

Use Carver when students are preparing for a job, internship, volunteer role, interview, resume update, or first step into a workplace setting.

Machu the Llama:Your Study Success Guide

“Strong study habits help students feel more prepared for the climb ahead.”

Machu helps students build study routines, test-prep habits, organization systems, and reflection strategies that support learning and follow-through.

What this guide helps students practice:

Study routines students can adapt for classes, exams, and projects

Organization and planning habits that reduce last-minute stress

Test-prep strategies for reviewing, practicing, and asking for help

Reflection prompts that help students notice what is working

Use Machu to build practical study habits and prepare with more confidence.