Article Contributed on: 11/23/2006 5:44:57 PM
Summit Ridge hosted its annual Career Fair on Friday, November 17. "This was the largest career fair expo we have had. It's a wonderful opportunity for students to talk to and interview community members in a variety of careers," said Betty Miller, counselor at Summit Ridge. "We try to get a wide variety of career representatives including health care, human services, natural resources, business, industrial engineering/technology, and arts and communication." Also in attendance were representatives from several community colleges, Warren Tech, and Dakota Ridge High School.
Students were asked to fill out interest surveys on three careers they wished to learn more about, and then interview representatives in those careers ranging from architects to firefighters to nursing to veterinarians. They also had an opportunity to take an online personality quiz that gave some pointers as to possible career choices that may match their personality.
Sisters Danelle Jansen (sign language interpreter) and Amanda Ogden (lactation specialist/BSN/RN/BLCL) were both on hand to share their job expertise. They were recruited by mom Deb Oakley, a teacher at Summit Ridge. "Students had excellent questions, and I was glad I had a lot of them from boys!" exclaimed Danelle.
Captain Pat Healy of the West Metro Fire Protection District said that students asked some pretty good questions while they attempted to try on the very heavy gear from the fire truck. "It was nice to see all the enthusiasm and curiosity for what we do."
Rick Stookey from Bristol-Meyers Squibb displayed cardiovascular images on a monitor that drew many students to his table. "Students who have had a history with heart problems or family histories with heart disease seeked me out to ask questions to help them better understand what causes these problems." Student Joe Shur found it "interesting to see heart problems and the different diseases of the heart" that were on display.
Mycah Giroue, Kaitlin Hoekstra, and Leanne Greer found the multimedia presentations from Warren Tech "Awesome - all of it: graphic design, html web page design, and video making." Jesse Wild added, "This gives me many more ideas of what's out there to do."
Students were later treated to a question-and-answer session with a panel of four highly successful community members: Anne Trujillo, Channel 7 News Anchor; Channel 9's Rod Mackey, Channel 9 sports; Steve Trojan, United Airlines pilot; and Colonel Kevin MacCary, who has a dual career as General Counsel at Lockheed Martin and as a Staff Judge Advocate at NORAD/US Northcom.
As far as preparing for an event as big as the fair, Miller said, "We start recruiting in the spring for our event in the fall. Community support and involvement always makes this a successful event for our eighth grade students."