BEMIDJI — For several years, the Career Fair has aided thousands of Bemidji High حلحلآ» students in their exploration of career paths after they graduate.
With the exact energy expected from the event at the high school on Monday morning, nearly 1,800 students flooded both gymnasiums and the halls to interact with over 50 area businesses and colleges.
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Traditionally offered to BHS students only, Bemidji Career Academy staff opted for a slight twist to this fall’s fair: inviting other area schools to take part.
“It’s always been on our radar to invite other schools because when we work with our partners, they’re working with greater Bemidji and the entire community,†Coordinator Jenny Fraley said. “It’s not just BHS, so we want to recognize that. We also want to show them what the BCA program is all about.â€
Inviting schools within a 60-mile radius, over 100 students attended from TrekNorth Junior and Senior High حلحلآ», Voyageurs Expeditionary حلحلآ», Red Lake and Northome High حلحلآ».
“As we’ve developed the career fair the last few years, our next logical step was to expand it a little bit,†BHS Principal Jason Stanoch said. “Many of our contiguous school districts now have an opportunity to see what our employers and partners have to offer.â€
Among a wide range of employers and representatives from local colleges, students had a chance to complete hands-on activities such as trying their hand at an airplane simulator offered by the Minnesota State Transportation Center of Excellence, which was stationed in a trailer outside the school.
At a booth headed by Central Lakes College, students could test their skills on an excavator simulator. At Northwest Technical College’s Early Childhood Education booth, attendees could learn about fetal alcohol and shaken baby syndrome with dolls commonly used in NTC’s early childhood classes.
Other organizations included Crystal Sugar Company, NLFX Professional, Choice Therapy and Bemidji State University.
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“These are some fantastic things for our kids to see,†Stanoch said. “We have quite a diverse offering for kids to explore and this represents the possibilities for our kids really well.â€
With the introduction of a hiring fair first held in April, Fraley detailed a certain pipeline that students go through when attending the career fair in the fall before the hiring fair takes place each spring.
“Employers get to talk about their industry (at the career fair) and tell students what it’s about instead of students guessing what it’s about,†Fraley said. “When students are looking for jobs in the spring, they already have that background knowledge of what that career is. Ultimately, the relationship between potential future employees and the employers is what students get out of it.â€
She added that such an opportunity like the career fair allows students a chance to find out what they may want to do for a career, but also what they don’t want to do.
“They might have an idea of what a job is, and then they visit with the people who do that and they may realize â€کthat’s not at all what I thought it was,’†Fraley said, “and that is just as valuable.â€
As more fairs are planned moving into the future, a goal for Fraley is to continue offering opportunities for other area schools to reap the rewards of BCA’s career fairs just as BHS students have done.
“I work with a lot of school counselors and they wish there was more of an opportunity, especially in rural areas, to bring their students (to career fairs),†Fraley said, “and Bemidji seems like a natural space to have that.â€
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