Career Fair offers hands-on job experience
By Megan Guilfoyle and Lori Nimke
IV Leader Staff
Over spring break, students from area grade schools and high
schools were offered the opportunity to attend Career Day at Illinois Valley
Community College, where they could gain hands-on experience and knowledge on a
future career choice.
Numerous career areas were represented throughout IVCC with demonstrations set
up in gym, vocational building and throughout the main campus.
Sue Isermann, the associate vice president for career
education, organized the event.
Isermann said IVCC and Starved Rock Associates for Vocational & Technical
Education are strong partners with area hospitals and construction unions and
organize the career fair every year at IVCC.
This year, IVCC had a mix of vocational and professional
careers, some including healthcare, building trades, agriculture, cosmetology,
English, math, special education and science.
"Forensics, music production and cosmetology generated the
most interest [among the students that attended]," said Isermann.
Jeanette Maurice, SRAVTE's Work-Based Learning/Tech Prep, said, "SRAVTE has been
an integral part of Illinois Valley Community College Career Day for around nine
years.
"For the past three or four years the Career Day has been
over Spring Break."
Maurice added, "This has been an improvement with the traffic, parking, more
room for the students and an increase in IVCC instructor participation."
Isermann said, "This year, 900 students attended the career
fair. Nineteen schools from the surrounding area within the IVCC district
participated.”
There were varying sizes of schools, including Putnam County,
Streator Northlawn, Ransom Elementary, De Pue and La Moille grade school.
Isermann said the courses and classes are meant to be
engaging and talk about career, salary, education and study in high school. She
added that the main goal is to help the students to see what to look for in
college, such as what classes to take in college and how many years to spend in
college. They hope to get the students thinking about career decisions and help
students see connection better between elementary, middle school and college.
One of the new additions this year was the Forensics Lab at
IVCC. The members of the IVCC Criminal Justice Association, or Rho Sigma Delta
chapter of Lambda Alpha Epsilon were there to volunteer for the day. Their four
labs consisted of Luminol testing, crime scene sketching, finger printing, hair
analysis and ballistics.
In addition, the directors of education in the surrounding
hospitals look forward to career day each year, as they come together in their
area of expertise
Area hospitals see the career fair as a chance to inform
students about health care careers. They spoke with more than 300 students.
Another area which has been a part of the IVCC career day for
several years is the Illinois Valley Building Trades Council.
Jim Conness, assistant business manager and electrician of Local Union 176, is
the organizer behind the building trades for the IVCC career day.
This year the group had 9-10 tables with representation of
several different crafts such as bricklayers, carpenters and electricians.
Conness said, "We had approximately 300 students during the
day that were able to receive hands-on experience."
With the hands-on experience offered at the Career Day, the
students who attended could gain a better idea of what job they may want to
pursue and what direction they would want to go in their life and the type of
education needed to accomplish that.