NEW PALESTINE — The whole idea is to enlighten students about the plethora of opportunities awaiting them once they graduate high school. From freshman to seniors, students from New Palestine High School (NPHS) and Eastern Hancock High School (EHHS) attended a career fair Friday at NPHS to check out potential work and college opportunities.
New Palestine’s head of Curriculum, Miles Hercamp, said they had 64 different vendors sign up to talk with students about possible work or educational opportunities. From the New Palestine Police Department to Koenig Equipment — a local John Deere Dealership — students got to see a little bit of everything as they try to figure out their future paths.
“The state came in and said all high schools needed to offer students a career fair,” Hercamp said. “It was limited as to what we had to do, but we knew we needed to offer something during the school day and we thought, if we have to do it, lets do it right.”
Hercamp and Craig Smith, New Palestine’s communications and outreach director, connected with as many businesses and colleges in the area as they could and ended up with a career fair students were pleased with.
“I think something like this is neat because you can get an idea of some of the job opportunities that are out there,” NPHS senior Rory Hubbard said. “There’s a lot to look at and take in.”
Rory plans to go to Ivy Tech in the fall and is looking for a good part-time job to help pay for college.
“I think something like this is good for kids of all ages in high school because it helps us know just what kind of options are actually out there,” Hubbard said.
Smith, who worked with Hercamp to organize the career fair, said it’s been great watching the students make contact with the businesses and colleges on hand.
“My favorite part about today is seeing our kids making eye contact and shaking hands,” Smith said. “That handshake and eye contact might not be their career today, but that practice might get them an opportunity in the future if not a job today.”
New Palestine students visited the career fair in the morning while EHHS students visited the career fair, located in the NPHS Field House, in the afternoon.
“In modern-day society, I think a lot of kids have sort of steered away from college because it’s become so expensive, like $85,000 a year, so students are constantly trying to find other ways to pay for education,” NPHS senior Isa Abbott said. “We need to have a side job that isn’t in fast food.”
That’s why officials from Koenig Equipment – a local John Deere Dealership took part in the career fair. They wanted students to know they can come and work for them while also earning an associates degree.
“We have 15 different locations in Indiana and Ohio, including Greenfield and Rushville, so any career fair we can go to and let the kids know what we have to offer, we want to do that because we have opportunities in parts, sales and services,” Michelle Oliver, Koening Learning and Development Coordinator said. “We have opportunities for a two-year degree through Vincennes University and that will get the kids certified as official John Deere technicians so they can get the same certification with hands-on experience in our company.”
NPHS senior Noah Forker said he liked the career fair because it opened his eyes to what possibilities are out there.
“It’s cool to go around and see the different offers some of the colleges might have but, truthfully, I had no idea there were so many work options around,” Forker said. “There are a lot more things out there than I ever thought.”
That’s what organizers wanted to help students understand — there are all kinds of work opportunities if they don’t want to go to a four-year college.
“We’re pleased with how things have turned out,” Hercamp said. “When we started reaching out, everyone we contacted wanted to be part of this, and what I’m really excited about is that half of the vendors here are businesses, not colleges, because not everyone goes to college and it’s important to introduce students to the workforce — real job opportunities.”
Mitch Burk is a teacher at NPHS who was also instrumental in getting the career fair together and will be an assistant principal at NPHS next year. He said it was great to see the broad types of jobs and college opportunities for the students.
“There are colleges here within 20 minutes of New Pal and colleges here from other states and there are businesses here from New Pal, but also major corporations,” Burk said. “So, if kids want to stay local or go high-rise or whatever they want, everything is represented here.”
