Massapequa High School students gained insight into a wide range of professions at the annual Career Fair on Jan. 31. During the two-hour event, students visited tables representing more than 40 schools, businesses and professional organizations.
This year’s event also included career panels. Students attended presentations on apprenticeships, engineering and manufacturing, and nursing. These allowed them to gain insight into those fields while also getting answers to their specific questions.
In the gymnasium, students had the opportunity to chat with various professionals, including several Massapequa alumni. There were representatives from the armed forces, construction trades, education, emergency services, financial firms, technology companies and more. Students could also learn about BOCES programs and Massapequa’s career and technical education classes that would help them further their interests.
“The goal is for them to get exposed to as many different career opportunities and pathways after high school as possible,” said Denise DeLury, Massapequa’s school-to-career coordinator. “Instead of going on a website, the Career Fair allows them to talk to someone who’s actually in the field and doing the work.”
This was the 15th year of the Career Fair. It was open to all secondary schools in the district as ninth graders from Ames Campus business classes and students from Berner Middle School technology classes also attended.
Ms. DeLury added the event reflected careers with different post-secondary education requirements. Students were encouraged to “talk to everybody, because you never know what spark you might get,” she said.