There are many pathways to a lucrative and family-sustaining career, and team members of Leadership Wyoming 2018 have learned about many of them since August of 2017. Now, with guidance from Tunkhannock Area School District (TASD) faculty and the Northern Tier Regional Planning and Development Commission, they are coordinating a career fair for students in grades 7 through 9 that will be held at Tunkhannock Area High School on Wednesday, May 30.
Leadership Wyoming is an annual program sponsored by the Wyoming County Chamber of Commerce to enhance leadership skills and promote community involvement among its 12 classmates. The Chamber identifies a need each year and challenges the Leadership team to come up with a way to meet it. The legacy of the career fair will be a template that the school district can use in years to come to continue the event.
In September, TASD superintendent Heather McPherson, career and technical director Greg Ellsworth, and director of school consolidation Kelly Carol met with Leadership Wyoming and shared with team members their own goals in helping students find the most efficient routes to rewarding careers. Regardless of the approach, McPherson maintained, the event should be student centered.
The guidance department oversaw the surveying of students recently, the results of which will help organizers lay out the venue to accommodate as many representatives from companies that mirror the aspirations of the students. Each grade will have approximately an hour to move through the fair, during which they will be encouraged to learn about three different careers, two of their choosing and one that they might not have previously considered.
A number of upperclassmen will be recruited to assist with the fair, which will provide an opportunity for direct interaction between them and potential employers taking part in the event. Every effort will be made to bring as many students as possible into contact with all of the professional representatives.
Leadership Wyoming’s Employer Committee is tasked with reaching out to the business community and others to provide a meaningful experience for the students, who will be surveyed again after the event to quantify their experience. Career Fair participants should expect to be at the high school from about 8 am to 12:30 pm on May 30, which includes set-up and break-down time prior to and after the fair, which is slated from 9 am to noon.
“The Leadership Wyoming Class of 2018 has worked diligently on creating a career fair to meet the needs of students and employers,” said Gina Suydam, president of the Wyoming County Chamber of Commerce. “I am proud of the thoughtfulness and time out into making this event uniquely tailored to the students.”
Employers interested participating in the Career Fair should contact group leader Kelly Langan at klangan@uncnepa.org.