With summer break approaching, Park’s annual spring job fair was held in the link March 18. Local businesses and workers set up interactive booths where students were able to learn about different summer job opportunities and even future career paths. The fair offered resources to students looking for jobs this summer, as well as new opportunities in the community.
Park’s Career and College Coordinator Kara Mueller said the fair is an annual event that is helpful for students to gain insight into new opportunities. She said this event features many pre-med opportunities for students who are working toward becoming a CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant) and are interested in further exploring the field.
“This is a spring job fair from our local communities, and our career pathway advisory board helps organize it every spring,” Mueller said. “It’s been fantastic, there’s a lot of park and rec (jobs), a lot of city employment opportunities and medical opportunities. We have an awesome amount of students getting their CNA (certificate), so a lot of our pre-med students can take advantage of that.”
According to freshman Jaisyn Smith, she attended the spring job fair to hear about job opportunities from the professionals in each field, while learning about their personal experiences and hearing descriptions of the jobs. She said working while being a high school student opens a new door of knowledge to students by having another environment to learn in, other than solely school.
“I came to (the job fair) to see all of the different backgrounds, I want to hear from people who actually do the job and know the job,” Smith said. “(Having a job in high school) is important because some people could graduate high school with all of their school knowledge, but (having a job) could help you learn more life skills and see other things besides just (what you learn in) high school.”
Sophomore Samuel Webb said he came to the summer career fair to check out potential job options, such as Park Public Works, with summer break approaching.
“(I came to the fair) to look at some jobs over the summer so I can make money,” Webb said. “I was really interested in the Park Public Works street crews. They work with the streets (and) patch potholes.”
According to Mueller, this event is important because it teaches students about different careers they may want to explore in the future, as well as offering job opportunities for students looking to work this summer. She said building your resume and gaining new knowledge and experiences is super important for students.
“The purpose is always to expose students to careers, but more on this end of the one we do in the spring is to open up doors for jobs for the summer,” Mueller said. ”Any kind of work experience is extremely valuable for a high school student.”
Webb said he saw lots of different booths at the fair representing different types of jobs in the city. He said the fair is an important way to showcase different types of jobs to students and inform them about opportunities over summer break.
“(I’ve seen) a lot of different careers here, like the police and the Park Public Works,” Webb said. “(The job fair) shows students opportunities they might have and gives people options for jobs.”
When asked why the spring job fair is important, Smith said the fair helps students like her discover different opportunities that are hiring students in her age range. She said representatives from the fire department and police station were there, and she has always had an interest in first responders, so it was a good opportunity to see into those fields.
“(The job fair) helps me because it actually opened my eyes more to seeing some jobs that are hiring 14 and 16 (year olds), which is my age range, so it helps me to see what jobs I can try and see if I like them,” Smith said. “I’ve always (been interested) in police and firefighters and the emergency field because I feel like it would be cool to save people’s lives (and) I want to help people.”
