ESCANABA, Mich. (WJMN) – Juniors and seniors from Bark-River Harris, Escanaba, Hannahville, and North Central schools gathered at Escanaba High School on Tuesday for a career fair. Delta County College Access Network (DCCAN) hosted the event to help students develop skills in communication and networking with local professionals.
“Today we have a career fair for Delta County high school students to learn about options,” said Kathy Becker, director of DCCAN. “We have colleges, we have local businesses represented, we have careers from work force all the way up to careers requiring advanced degrees.”
Figuring out what to do after graduating high school can be scary and overwhelming, but DCCAN is trying change that with its career fairs.
“Delta County College Access Network the group is dedicated to making sure that kids understand their opportunities after high school, what career fields are available to them, and what kind of education and training they will need to be able to work in those different fields,” said Doug Leisenring, superintendent of Delta-Schoolcraft ISD/chair of DCCAN. “So that’s the whole of today is to get kids exposed to different opportunities in our region and our state and what kind of education requirements it would take for them to be able to achieve those positions.”
Katrina Borucki, a senior at North Central, shared what she learned from the booths she visited.
“Higher populated areas like you have more job certainty, however, in like Michigan, the Upper Peninsula, it’s rural, but we still need jobs, you have job opportunities here. I also talked to Bay [College] because I am going to be a fifth-year student, so I wanted to know information about that,” said Borucki.
Local businesses, organizations, and universities were there to offer advice and guidance to students.
“It’s so important to get kids interested in careers, different [and] various things they can do, but also just to talk to us because a lot of kids don’t really know where they want to go, what they want to do so this is like a great opener for that,” said Vicki Gerou, vice president of human resources at First Bank.
