Anzar High School hosts first-ever career fair for students

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San Juan Bautista’s Anzar High School hosted its first-ever career fair on Jan. 16, drawing representatives from 20 colleges, 47 industry partners (including BenitoLink) and four military branches. For two hours, almost 500 sixth- through 12th-grade students from the Aromas-San Juan Unified School District had a chance to gather brochures, grab a little swag, and talk to people living the careers they might aspire towards.

Superintendent Barbara Dill-Varga said the fair was a chance for kids to find the intersection between what they’re good at and what they like doing. 

“School is not just about preparing kids to go to college,” Dill-Varga said. “Certainly, that is one of our goals, but maybe equally important is what can they do to earn a living wage so they can remain in our community.”

Before the winter break, students throughout the district were given career-interest assessments. Based on that input, the district hand-picked participants, covering as many employment pathways of interest as possible. Before the fair, each student was given a “passport” that listed the various booths.

“The high school students needed to interview three colleges and three companies,” said Anzar Principal Angela Crawley. “Then they respond with their next steps, like visiting a college, talking to their counselor, or researching other careers.”

Senior Piper Shankle, 17, is a CPR-certified Scout who is interested in a career as an emergency medical technician or a firefighter, and was able to talk to people in both fields, including participants from CAL FIRE and Cabrillo College. She thought CAL FIRE was particularly interesting because the station in Aromas would allow her to work locally.

“It was really nice to have so many opportunities here,” she said. “I haven’t been able to reach out to many of these organizations just because there’s not much nearby. I would just love to be able to do a career while I go and actively help people, and that doesn’t require a lot of schooling.”

Director of Curriculum and Instruction Jivan Dhaliwal said that one surprise was the number of students specifically interested in art, media and entertainment, particularly visual arts, film editing, sound mixing and photography. So it was not surprising that the table for the Weston Collective, which sponsors youth programs in photographic instruction and has been working with the district for over a year, was a popular stop.

Collective Board Member Michelle Magdalena allowed students to use a professional-grade Canon digital camera and a synchronized flash softbox to take photos of each other while she promoted the Weston scholarship, which has given out over $100,000 in grants for high school and college students. 

“I was really excited to have a presence at the fair,” Magdalena said. “We want kids to really know that they can do something in the arts professionally, and photography is a great way to do that. You can also learn about media, design, publishing and storytelling, things that are at a crossroads with photography.”

Senior Sofia Jordan, 17, is interested in psychology and spent time talking to a mental-health therapist from Santa Clara University. “It has been cool to talk to all the reps from the colleges,” she said, “and see what they think of their campuses. I think it will be useful for the younger grades and it is a great opportunity. I think they should do this as an annual thing.”

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