SCSD Students’ Career Readiness Shines Bright at CTE Career Fair

Zymir Douglas: Future Engineer.
 
This is how his business card read, as he handed it to some of the more than 70 businesses on hand at Onondaga Community College’s SRC Arena at the annual SCSD Career and Technical Education (CTE) Career Fair. Juniors and seniors from all SCSD high schools were invited to the event.
 
“This is actually a thin piece of metal that my engineering teacher had,” ITC Electrical Technology P-TECH senior Zymir Douglas shared as he held up the card. “We used Canva to make templates, and then used a machine to laser our design onto it to make unique business cards.”
 
As Zymir made his way to different tables, he noted that there was something for everyone, representing all career fields and all CTE program areas: healthcare, engineering, finance, landscaping, food service, environmental fields, military, and more. Part time and full time work, summer employment, internships, and more were offered – with on-site applications and on-site interviews. But Zymir was there with one goal: networking!
 
“I’m interested in working at Lockheed Martin in electrical engineering,” he explained. “So I’m looking at the different options. I’d like to finish the P-TECH program and then I hope to go to RIT. My favorite part of the Career Fair was talking to different companies and learning about the things they do and the things they can do to support me and my future.”
 
PSLA at Fowler junior Anthony Murray shared the same goal.
 
“I already have a job, but I came here looking for something for me to work toward,” he said. “I hope to work in cybersecurity, hopefully for the government. I used the Career Fair as a way to make connections and find internships that can help me reach my goal. I’m using it to my advantage!”
 
For those uncertain about their plans for the future, the career fair presented a great opportunity for students to be exposed to new career paths.
 
“It was good to have the opportunity to get an idea of what to choose for my future career,” PSLA at Fowler junior Kimberly Peguero said. “I’d like to enter the medical field, but I’m not sure what I’d like to do yet. I spoke with the people at Upstate Medical University and I learned about the internships and things that I can apply to when I turn 18. I wouldn’t have known these things unless I had come here!”
 
“This has been nice because it allows me to see where my head is – if I want to pursue college or enter right into a career,” Nottingham senior Johnny Teague said. “The Career Fair showed me basically everything I need to succeed… every career I can think of! NY Life stood out to me because they deal with finance. I feel like learning about how money moves is an important life skill and that interests me. There are a lot of jobs that were hiring for employment now, like Wegmans. This experience is going to help me think about where I want to start out on my path to greatness.”
 
Thank you to the Career and Technical Education team for their efforts in making the Career Day possible, as well as to all the business professionals that participated!