She was among 1,000 eighth grade students from Fulton, Montgomery and Hamilton counties at Career Con to explore careers among 60 businesses represented from various fields, ranging from emergency management to construction.
“I think people should know what they want to do before they go to college and study that,” said Homes, who said she aspires to be a lawyer.
Michael DiMezza, principal of career and technical education at HFM BOCES, said Career Con, a career awareness event for eighth graders, had students from 14 different schools attend.
“If we’re able to get kids involved in career paths earlier, hopefully they’ll choose to stay with us in the region in the future, and know what’s available,” he said.
Future plans include specialized activities for high schoolers in health care, automotive, engineering, and construction, and a “Women in the Workforce” event in February, DiMezza said.
Lt. Ron Reu of the Gloversville Police Department, representing law enforcement careers, said it’s important to emphasize community engagement and positive interactions with students.
“We come out to these events as often as we can to meet the members of the community, meet the students, and explain to them the benefits of becoming a police officer in the city of Gloversville,” Reu said.
“We put out there that our job is mainly to help people and to keep everyone safe and happy while also upholding the law,” he said. “It’s not all ‘CSI.’”
Reu said he hopes that at least one student from the event will consider a career in policing, highlighting the human aspect of the job and the need for better, non-confrontational interactions between police officers and the public.
Nicole Walrath Van Alstyne, director of workforce development at the Fulton Montgomery Regional Chamber of Commerce, explained that Career Con was the inaugural career awareness event in partnership with SUNY FMCC and BOCES’ Career and Technical Education Department. SUNY FMCC students also had opportunities for on-the-spot interviews and internships.
“We really hope, for the future, that we can continue this yearly and that we can add more grade levels,” she said. “The end goal is to really make sure that our students in the area get earlier career exposure.”
The event was co-sponsored by SUNY FMCC and the Chamber of Commerce.
