PHOENIX — Students with Mesa Public Schools students recently got the opportunity to add to their resumes at the school district’s second annual job fair.
Juniors or seniors in any district high school were able to meet with over a hundred Valley business and companies to apply for internships or part-time jobs in their chosen area of study.
How did Mesa job fair help students in public schools?
Priseyah Robinson, a junior at Westwood High School, attended the Mesa job fair.
She said she was looking for a job in the medical field, which she hopes will help her become an athletic trainer.
“I would say it’s definitely giving them more experience in like the real-life workforce rather than just like if they’re doing like an after-school program,” she said.
Georgia Wright, a junior at Mesa High School, was looking for a digital marketing job. She said the fair helped her network in her chosen field as well.
“I right now have like a very inner circle, that’s very knit to my school. This is able to reach out to different companies that I don’t have the personal connections to get to,” she explained. “I could find my forever job in there.”
What kinds of job opportunities did students with Mesa Public Schools have?
Booths at the Mesa job fair ranged from the Phoenix Zoo to Honeywell, with companies offering jobs in nursing, beauty, and construction.
Dawn Giles, workforce development specialist for the school district, said that extra experience gained from holding a job will help students after graduation.
“Getting kids to have some real-world experience makes school more meaningful. All of a sudden, you understand how you use algebra 2 and why it matters,” she said.
Ashlyn Sharky with Hoofbeats with Heart, a horse therapy center for children with disabilities, explained that her organization attended the event to look for interns and volunteers. She said working for the company helps these kids gain long-term skills.
“I have people who are pursuing nursing careers, who are pursuing anything that has to do with children, one that’s pursuing a social worker,” Sharky said. “I mean, truly anything. And respite care looks amazing on a resume because it shows responsibility.”
Funding for this journalism is made possible by the Arizona Local News Foundation.
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