For the second year in a row, Buddy Taylor has hosted a career fair to show students what career opportunities were available outside of going to college.
“We want the kids to know there is so much available in Flagler County for them to pursue, if that’s what they want,” BTMS Principal Cara Cronk said.
The Oct. 23 fair, co-organized by the Flagler County Education Foundation and the Palm Coast Junior Chamber, featured over 50 vendors this year, including tables for Flagler County, Palm Coast, several first responders and other trade industries and programs.
This year, Cronk said, they tried to also include programs featured at the high schools — like the Junior ROTC programs and Matanzas High School’s Culinary program. The high schools offer several programs that allow students to graduate with certifications and immediately join the work force
“What we wanted was to make sure that the students and parents are fully aware of all the opportunities at both high schools,” she said.
Having the high school programs at the school allows the middle school students to talk to the high school students in the programs, she said, that way the students can make an informed decision before signing up for them.
“One of the things that we know as educators is not everyone is going to go get a college degree, and that’s fine. That is okay,” Cronk said.
Several of the tables brought interactive displays for the students to try out. Lauren Ramirez, of Salus Medical Training, brought training dummies and fake blood and medications for students to try their hand at both drawing blood and administering medication with a needle.
“This is for students or adults or anyone looking for a medical career,” Ramirez said. Salus provides training and certifications for several different careers — including phlebotomy and medical assisting, as well as a variety of first aid certifications.
Cronk said the goal was to have a variety of participants to appeal to all of the students, not just the college-bound kids.
“To have the exposure to all these different things that kids can pursue right out of high school, if they want to, it just it makes me very happy,” Cronk said. “That is one of our goals, is to show the kids that there are different career avenues for every type of student.”