On Thursday, Fredericktown High School’s FCCLA chapter, under the direction of Mrs. Lana Cole, invited students to attend the annual FCCLA Career Fair in the gym. Students in grades nine through twelve were allowed to spend a whole class hour exploring college and career options in Madison County and the surrounding communities. To facilitate visiting as many tables as possible and making this time the most productive it could be, each grade was assigned to come to the gym during a certain hour. Seniors and UniTec students were given option that worked for their attendance schedules as well.
This event, months in the planning, is one way that FCCLA fulfills two of its core purposes: “to provide opportunities for personal development and preparation for adult life” and “to encourage democracy through cooperative action in the home and community.” Over two dozen FCCLA members worked hard to greet community participants, help set up their tables, and provide them with drinks and snacks during the morning. “We had over 55 businesses and 100 people,” Cole said.
Community participants included schools and businesses in the Fredericktown area as well as presenters from nearby towns and cities in Southeast Missouri who seek to build relationships with our students. Many graduates of FHS work in these businesses or attend these institutions of higher education, and some current students are getting their feet in the door as well.
Heather Dietiker, a communications specialist at Black River Electric Cooperative, said that her company hires two types of student workers: “gas guys” and student dispatchers. Black River, which is “big on safety” according to Dietiker, currently has trained Gage Montgomery (12) and Caleb Feltz (11) as gas guys, whose job it is to do general running around tasks to keep things moving smoothly. As important as that job is, Dietiker said those employed as student dispatchers really learn the entire industry—including customer service skills—in their work. Student dispatchers such as Will Clauser (12) work two eight-hour weekend shifts, including some overnights, taking outage calls so that linemen can get to repair sites as soon as possible.
Graduates of FHS also shared their experiences of how their classes here at FHS helped them to prepare for their current jobs. Geoffrey McDowell and Alyssa (Bowling) McDowell, who graduated in 2015 and 2016, respectively, married after high school and both went to work for Swinford Realty, LLC. Alyssa joined the Scratch Pad staff her junior year, when she began to hone her journalistic skills of layout design and proofreading. She is now responsible for all things related to social media: billboard design, a weekly ad in the Democrat News, posts to Instagram and Facebook, and making sure that houses for sale are displayed on Swinford’s website. Geoffrey credited college prep English with former teacher Mrs. Ann McNamara and his public speaking experiences in agricultural classes as giving him an edge when he went to college. He felt better prepared for communication tasks than some of his classmates. Now he uses his skills in photography and networks with photo editors on Fiverr to produce ads for the houses he sells as a broker.
Chloe Francis (12) used her time to plan for college. Because she has her sights set on a career in astrophysics, she had already made plans to take the ACT in December when she stopped at SEMO’s table. She said that SEMO seemed like a “good possibility” for an education in physics, so she gathered brochures on the programs there. In addition, Francis was pleasantly surprised to discover in those brochures that automatic scholarships are available for students scoring well enough on the ACT. That’s one less scholarship application to write.
Of course, many experiences were geared toward a hands-on approach. Jillian Hinkle (10) tried her hand at a welding simulation activity with the presenters from Mingo Job Corps. “I didn’t know what to expect,” she said.
Although some of the tasks seemed difficult, students learned that prospects are good for those accepted into programs at Mingo. Tim Watson, a welding instructor there, was excited to share how his students fared. “We really don’t like our students to leave unless they have a job,” Watson stated. Training and job placement? Sign us up!
All in all, students had a great time visiting the tables. The New Era Bank table at the west side of the gym was extremely popular this year. Students had the opportunity to spin a wheel for cash prizes. One of the New Era Bank employees quipped, “None of them has asked about New Era Bank. They’re just here for the money.” That may be so, but a number of FHS grads have been employed as New Era tellers over the years. Some eventually worked their way behind a desk, helping customers with important financial matters like loans and mortgages. And let’s not forget the other giveaways, like the stress ball that Andy Davis (10) chose or those cute little piggies from Jayce Mountain Pork.
All of this would not have been possible without the volunteers of FCCLA. A big thanks goes out to them and to Mrs. Cole for hosting our college and career fair this year.
