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Students explore careers at LCC fair
Thursday, March 27, 2008 6:23 AM PDT
By Thacher Schmid
tschmid@tdn.com
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E-mail this articleEven as Lower Columbia College students relaxed on spring break, their campus rang with laughter and energy Wednesday during Career Fair 2008. The 1,300 high school sophomores who participated seemed to be split between those with an idea where they're headed and those without the foggiest notion.
"I'm pretty sure I want to be a longshoreman, like my dad," said Tysan Fuqua, a Mark Morris student.
"I'm still trying to figure out what I want to do," said Joe Dunn, also from Mark Morris.
"I'll probably go work on the railroad, but they don't have a class for that here, so I'm just bouncing around," said Austin Slape, also from Mark Morris. "It's a good way to get out of class," he added, to the chuckles of peers.
Workshops were given by 80 professionals from nearly 60 fields, from artist to veterinarian to massage therapist. The most popular were construction (136 attendees), photographer (115), music (107), nursing (96) and psychologist (90).
Kelso Career/Technical Educator Jenny Psait, who organized the event and directed a staff of 20, said all students had a chance to sample workshops in three distinct fields and were given a list of questions. Participating high school schools included Kelso, Mark Morris, R.A. Long, Toutle, Kalama and Three Rivers Christian.
"It's kind of a little step into the real world for them," said Psait. She said the event satisfies a state requirement that high school graduates experience a "culminating" project that exposes them to the world of work.
Inside the construction workshop, the booming voice of Jeff Washburn, a member of the local plumbers' union, rattled off welding techniques, the apprenticeship process, career opportunities and "the life." Washburn passed around perfectly-welded pipes to a group of 18 males and two females, while Mike Bridges of the local electricians' union talked about his field.
"You can make so much money you can't even spend it up there," Washburn said of opportunities in the Alberta, Canada tar sand fields. "But you're going to have to work for it."
"It sounded pretty tempting," Dallas Jennings of Kelso said later. "It's kind of shaky here, so I'm looking into my options, because all the mills are going down, supposedly."
In the photography workshop, freelance photographer Mike Frank leapt onto a table and extolled the virtues of his craft before a dozen teens who seemed variously mesmerized and bored.
"I like the idea of going freelance," said Alee Prindle of Mark Morris, who said photography's combination of "creativity and compassion" appealed to her. "When I first got a digital camera, I decided, 'Hey, this might not be such a bad thing.'"
Peace Health's Katie Miller spoke to 15 females about nursing.
"Today's nurses can practice anywhere," Miller said.
Psait said only two presenters didn't show for the morning session.
"We've got it down a little bit, to where it's kind of a science now, because we've been doing it for so many years," Psait said of the event. She said the Forensic Science category (52 attendees) was added in response to demand, and the fine-tuning will continue in coming years.
Isn't It Interesting.... wrote on Mar 27, 2008 1:58 PM:
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