The first day of the Career Fair was for the students during their Social Studies class or Study hall. The second was for the children of the community. Executive Director of the Northmont Area Chamber of Commerce, Angela Clifford thought up the idea. The job of the Executive Director of the Northmont Area Chamber of Commerce is to bring students and businesses together. According to Mrs. Clifford herself, in a small email interview, “The Career Fair does that on a larger scale”. This was not the first Career Fair. The first one began on the  29th of April in the 2022 school year. Businesses outside of Northmont were able to participate but the focus was the Northmont community. With this, the business can get quality employees.

Many of the vendors that participated were a part of the  Northmont Area Chamber of Commerce. Most of the remaining connections Mrs. Clifford made throughout the past year. The last part of the last was the people who participated in the previous year. A one-call email went out telling parents and guardians that the career fair was being hosted at the high school.  Some parents who worked for local companies were also asked to participate in the event.

One parent, in particular, happened to be Mary Anne Veach. She did a booth at the career fair that appeared to be very popular this is what she had to say when she was asked what she did, what she thought of the event, and what her experience was, 

“My name is Mary Anne Veach, and I am a small business owner of a Mary Kay business. For the career fair events, I set up a table that shared the many aspects of my career. I had a really great experience! I loved educating the middle school and high school students on the possibilities of having a Mary Kay side hustle or career, and the importance of having multiple streams of income. I asked students for their feedback, and the majority of them stated that their favorite part was the unlimited income potential, and the ability to earn the use of a company car! I also enjoyed connecting with other local business owners. We have already started to network and provide better work opportunities for our students and community. For the A-Z Career Discovery, I chose a role-play demonstration with the product and play money to physically show young children how I earn an income and incorporated real-life math skills that were age appropriate. It was truly a rewarding experience for me, and to be able to invest in the future of our community. I definitely look forward to doing this again!” 

In a brief interview with a few Northmont High students, a couple who wished to stay anonymous, all were asked the same questions shown below.

•  What did you think of the event?
• What was something you found interesting about it?
• Would you like for the Career fair to continue?

One student who wished to be mentioned James (Jamey) Paul commented, “It was pretty cool, there was candy. I’d want to do it again.” 

Others did not want their names to be used. “I thought it was fun, mainly because we got to get outta class, but the healthcare stuff was really interesting because I’m considering going into the field.” I would definitely do it again.” (Some of this quote has been translated from text lingo due to the interview being conducted over text). 

 Another student had a different opinion from the other interviewees, here’s what they told. “I didn’t really like the event. To answer the question of doing it again?Not really.  It’s just because there weren’t many options. It was heavily based on like health and the military not much to choose from.”

The plan is to have career fairs be an annual thing for the community in the month of April, a joy to some, and hope for a little more variety for others.