By Aidan Mortensen | KOAL News
Looking to discover their potential next steps postgraduation, Emery High School was filled to the brim with students on Friday, March 14, for the school’s yearly career fair. Representatives from businesses around the Castle Country looked to introduce these students to possibilities they may not have realized before.
“We’re preparing them for careers, college, whatever their choice is postgraduation, and we want to give them an opportunity to see what is out there,” said Emery School District Administrator Doug Mecham.” What does it take to become this profession or that profession? What kind of schooling, what kind of training is necessary?”
Comprising over 20 businesses including Castle Country Radio, the Utah Highway Patrol, Komatsu and Utah State University Eastern, the event offered a wide variety of prospective careers for all students to explore.
“It takes a lot of organization,” said Mecham, of the planning required to host this event. “There was a great amount of help from Nicole Steele at the division of Workforce Services and Zach Kanakis at USUE and their staff. They are such great supporters of this.”
Beginning with a keynote speaker, Rob Powell, the Associate Department Head of Technical Education at USUE, spoke to students on the importance of knowing what opportunities are available postgraduation: “There’s always been a split between what we call traditional education and technical education. And there used to be a big stigma and gap between those. But I have learned in my career that there are pathways for both.”
Following the keynote address, students attended four separate workshops hosted by each business to learn more about what each field offers. The event concluded with a drawing for prizes donated by the businesses.
“Our main goal with the Career Fair is to connect our students with various professions and get them excited about potential career options,” reads a release from the district,” We are also excited to showcase our new High School and the increased opportunities for learning it gives our students.”