By Takahiro Kurosaki / Staff Writer
Just hanging around- Student Keisha Phillip combats the clock and makes every effort to hold on as she does the flexed arm hang while visiting the Marines booth on March 16 during Career Fest. (Lauren Garcia / Photo Editor)
By Takahiro Kurosaki / Staff Writer
Students are always looking for an opportunity to explore their options when it comes to making a career choice.
Many resources are available if you want to know about your career and education, including the career and transfer fair.
It’s an effective way to know more about the job you are interested in pursuing, your education and visualize your future.
A career fair and transfer fair was held at Riverside City College on March 16 and offered students ample opportunity to investigate options for their career and education.
Professionals from various types of jobs as well as school representatives from all over California, gathered to provide information to students and recruit them.
The fair played an important role to shorten the distance between students and representatives or professionals in both physical and mental sense.
Some of the representatives and professionals came out of Riverside and enabled students to have another option for their career and education.
Others made a trip from further away in hopes of recruiting.
“Our school is a little bit farther than some of the local schools,” said Darnell Edwards, the Outreach Coordinator of California State University Northridge. “But we can offer a new alternative to students by coming here.”
Although questions from students were about various topics representatives were able to provide the answers.
They remembered what it was like to be a student in the same shoes as those who attended the fair.
“What is the guard? This was the most frequently asked question,” said Rhiannon Carlucci, the Recruiting and Retention NCO of California Army National Guard. “But I know that because I didn’t know even the existence when I was a student seeking a job.”
Talking to professionals and representatives was not a only helpful for getting general information, but the conversations enabled students to benefit from the immediacy of response from the fair.
“When I e-mail a question, I have to wait for a day until I get an answer,” said Manuel Valle, a RCC student majoring in a child development. “But I can get the answer for a question, and get additional information.”
He attended the fair seeking a career related to his major.
For students with English not being their primary language, having the representatives there in person broke down the language barrier.
Representatives and professionals see the importance of speaking with students in person because they are able to not only provide information immediately, but also convey what other resources cannot deliver.
Professionals and representatives used the opportunity of being able to create an atmosphere for the students to see and get a feel of what was being represented.
“Because they can see the person behind a paper, face-to-face is very important,” said Hope Read, the Admissions Counselor of California Baptist University.
“They can feel the emotion and information,” Edwards said. “They can get not only the answer but also intimate side of it. They can see our expression and passion about the message you give them.”
The fair was put on to help students from all stages of career search. From those who know what they want to do as a vocation to those who are just beginning to explore their options.
“This is my first time to visit a fair,” said Scott Davis who is majoring in administrative justice at RCC and wants to join the SWAT team in the future. “I expected to learn about universities, basically choosing one for later reference, and I would see which one offers me the best in the end. Now I know it.”