ONTARIO — Students from across Richland, Knox and Crawford counties had the opportunity to explore a myriad of opportunities at the Junior Achievement “Inspire to Hire” career fair Thursday.
This year marked the third annual in-person fair, which started as a virtual experience in 2020.
More than 860 students from13 schools participated in this year’s Junior Achievement Inspire to Hire career fair at the Richland County Fairgrounds.
Kenzie Goodland, a junior at Ontario High School, was excited about the Inspire-to-Hire event. One of her favorite parts was that organizers included so many different college booths, along with the career booths.
Goodland said she is undecided about her future after high school and was looking forward to what this event offered.
Ryan Racer, a senior at Ontario High School, said he already knows what he wants to study after high school.
“I am going to be a computer science major at Ohio State, but this is still a great opportunity to experience,” he said.
Participating high schools included Mount Vernon, Ontario, Cypress, Northmor, Mount Gilead, Carey, Galion, Lexington, Pioneer Career and Technology Center, and middle schools from Cardington, River Valley, Buckeye Central and Fredericktown.
Students received goodie bags with a map of businesses and a bingo sheet of activities. The activities included collecting a business card, discovering a new industry, talking to a law enforcement officer, and participating in a hands-on activity.
Representatives from 38 businesses ranging from health services, military, agriculture and environmental science to manufacturing, trades, science, law and local colleges provided resources to students.
“We try to make this event as hands-on as possible for the students,” said North Central Ohio JA president Joshua Lehman. “Allowing them to get a feel for what may interest them in the future.”
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Students take exit surveys as they leave the career fair, which Lehman said receive positive reviews.
“We got 85% of the students last year saying this event either reinforced or changed what they wanted to do,” he said. “I think event’s like today’s really reinforce the importance of experiential, hands-on learning.”
Students at the fair Thursday had already interacted with JA’s online tool Here to Career, that lets students explore opportunities with likely education and cost requirements. Lehman said JA of North Central Ohio covers 16 counties and has reached more than 5,000 students with programs this school year.
One of 38 booths for students to try Thursday was Avita Health System’s CPR practice.
Kirk Williamson, who works for Avita, said this was the hospital’s second year at the Inspire-to-Hire event.
“It is important to get this training out there so they know it for their families, even if it is not the career they are choosing,” he said.
Williamson said if students decide they want to become CPR certified, they can schedule a time with Avita to get their training.
The goal for the Inspire to Hire career fair is to expose students to opportunities in their area that might be out of their comfort zones or career paths they may not have considered before.
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Students could also explore financial lessons in addition to career opportunities at the fair.
Heidi Foreman from Firelands Federal Credit Union shared her booth had a wheel students could spin for a prize and financial lesson.
“We are just hoping to educate the students about financial literacy,” Foreman said.
Ryan Doup, an Ohio Edison lineman, shared live power line demonstrations with students.
“We can power this trailer and teach electrical safety too,” he said. “It’s not powered today.
“The students today are really curious and asking about how things work and wanting to try the demo out. I think it’s really neat to be out in the community and showing people what we do.”
Junior Achievement also offers Here to Career, a tool students can use for career-matching assessments and receive information on local and national jobs, employers and post-secondary jobs.
JA of North Central Ohio partners with over 100 area businesses and organizations, helping 6th through 12th-grade students discover career paths.
Grace McCormick contributed reporting to this story.