Students Get A Taste Of Their Future At Career Fair

High school kids and young adults got a taste of what their vocations could be after college Tuesday afternoon.

Dozens of students attended the annual career fair at . Representatives from local and national companies, service organizations, institutions of higher learning, and members of the military packed the gymnasium ready to tell students more about what their organization or vocation has to offer.

“We have to open their minds to new possibilities and new career choices,” said Virginia Chiller, the Wayne School District’s transition coordinator. Chiller organizes the annual event.

“A lot of kids just don’t know enough about what is out there to make an informed decision about what they want to do with the rest of their lives,” Chiller said. “Kids need a plan because not everyone is going to go into the family business.”

Chiller said her job is merely to give students a taste of what is out there. It is up to them, she said, to determine if they want to find out more about a particular field.

Hobbies and interests that a young adult may already have are a good place to begin when considering a career choice.

“Let’s turn them on to things and choices that they might not have known existed before today,” Chiller said. “Let’s take an interest that someone may have and find a way to make it into a job for them. A lot of kids wouldn’t even consider something like that or think it were possible, but it is.”

Often, a chosen vocation will require that students learn about more than just one topic or discipline.

Islenny Gomez, an 18-year-old senior, wants to become a professional dancer and own her own dancing school. But Gomez’s career choice relies on a lot more than just knowing how to keep a beat. She will attend Point Park University beginning in the fall.

“I’m going to have to know about owning a business and how to run one and dealing with kids and how to effectively communicate with people,” Gomez said.  

Chiller said more students in recent years have opted to attend a trade school or a technical institute rather than go straight for a bachelor’s or master’s degree.

“A lot of things in this school have to be put together and maintained by carpenters, plumbers, and electricians,” said Sam Secretario, who owns a carpenters training center in Trenon. ”There is a tremendous need out there for people who know how to repair, fix, and create things with their hands. Whether it is learning how to properly install a door or repair an air-conditioning system, those are skills that can never be taken away from someone.”

Chiller said that it is never too early for students to begin creating resumes. She suggested students start by listing not just their job experience, but their interests as well. This may lead them to make better choices about what kind of career they want to pursue.

“If you want to go into child care and you were a babysitter, then put that down. If you want to be a mechanic and they’ve had a job helping out in a garage then put that down,” Chiller said. “It looks good and may give them a better understanding of what kind of jobs they should apply for.”

Principal Scot Beckerman said that the most important step students can take in their journey towards a vocation they truly enjoy is to become as well-rounded as possible.

“There is a small group of kids who absolutely know what they want to do and then there’s a lot who are not sure yet,” Beckerman said. “And that’s the fun of it, there’s so much out there for these kids to experience and find out about as they grow into adults. It opens their eyes to new possibilities that they never knew existed before.”