On March 10, Riverside Brookfield High School hosted a week-long college and career fair for students during lunch periods in the foyer at the main entrance. This event was geared towards helping students discern what they want to do after high school.
This year, RB had representatives from around 16 different colleges. Representatives from those schools came to talk to students of all ages to share a little bit more about their college, scholarships, and majors, and make connections. Counselor Paul Emerson shares why RB decided to do this event.
“I think facetime in front of college reps is important,” Emerson said. “Whether you’re a freshman and you’ve never really engaged with an adult for that capacity, or if you’re a senior and you’re still trying to fine-tune your plans, we just wanted to give them the opportunity to engage with the reps and learn about the schools. It’s much easier for them to do so if it is during the lunch periods here during the school day because there’s no after-school commitment, no driving commitment, and there is no cost. Everything is just super accessible.”
Not only does RB give students an environment to learn about college, but they also provide talks about trades. It goes along with the college and career fair and is during the same week.
“There is also a trades and career fair during college and career week for students who are interested in trades instead of going through more schooling,” Emerson said. “RB is very diverse with their students interested in different paths after high school, so this is also a way for high schoolers to get a variety of options to do that doesn’t have to involve college. “
These events are so essential for students to get a better understanding of what they want to do with their lives after high school. The best part is that RB gives multiple routes to choose from and does not only focus on college.
“I think it’s so important to just let students know that there’s not a one-size-fits-all approach to life after high school,” Emerson said. “There are a lot of great plans that students can make. As counselors, we support all types of different plans. I think the one thing that we want to ensure is that you do have a plan after high school—that when you leave here, you feel good about what’s next for you.”
Overall, this event was a huge success for students, and the counselors were very pleased with the turnout. Counselor Jim Franko shares his thoughts on the event.
“I think it seemed to go well,” Franko said. “I had one student mention something specifically about talking to one of the people at the career fair, and he came down to ask about his classes next year and if he is doing things that will help him in his next steps, so my sense of it is it went well overall.”
Emerson adds on to this and tells what the best part of the event was.
“I think that it’s just the joy that students feel when they learn that there’s a great path out there for them—that they’ve seen people that are doing those things that they’re interested in doing and that they have comfort knowing what the next steps are,” Emerson said. “There’s real value in that, and we can see that in the people that attended the fair.”
High school goes by fast, so the college and career week that RB hosts is beneficial for all grade levels to give them a better idea of what they want to do after high school. Whether that is college, trades, going straight to the workforce, or even the military, this event helped those who were interested in learning more. Franko gives his last thoughts and advice to students considering their future after high school.
“Whatever you’re thinking about doing, it could change, but whatever you’re thinking about doing, the more you can sort of approximate the good points and bad points, the better,” Franko said. “It’s one thing to read about things, but it’s another thing to be in it and doing it.”
