This is an old news article from a previous year. This article covers the Rural County Career Fair 2023. To read about the Career Fair in 2024, go to Ebenezer’s Hosts Annual Career Fair for Students.
BRYCE, Utah (January 10, 2023) — On Tuesday Garfield, Wayne and Piute counties held their annual Rural County Career Fair at Ebenezer’s Barn and Grill. About 150 juniors and seniors from all three counties, all five high schools, gathered to find probably more options than they thought they had for staying and working in rural counties.
The event was entirely built around extending opportunities to the next generation.
It began with a 15-minute speaker, and went on to include breakout sessions with Q&A and vending groups for different employers.
Speaker
Angie Atkinson, University of Utah’s Southern admissions counselor, taught students what to do when they feel afraid of the next steps in their lives.
The first thing they can do is remember how many people they have to help them. “So many people are here for you,” she said, gesturing to the principals, counselors, employers and peers in the room, “people that are here because they care about you and your future.”
She explained that “senioritis” is often powered by fear. And there are three ways to respond to fear: flight, fight, or freeze.
The end of high school is scary, making decisions is scary, but it’s also an amazing opportunity for growth. “The end of something is always the beginning, and often the potential beginning of something great,” Atkinson said.
The biggest goal of this career fair was to have students walk away with a Plan A, Plan B and Plan C. Plan A is for dreams. Plan B is for things that are more realistic. The last one, Plan C, is a contingency plan, just in case something crazy happens and you can’t do the first two.
Q&A Groups
Students can’t find their dream job without information, and that’s where the question and answer groups come in. The Q&As included eight different categories: health, law enforcement, professionals, Garkane and South Central, remote work, tourism, tech, and natural resources.
Many rural employers stressed the value of being able to work and live where your roots are.
There are a lot more options for working in rural communities than might be apparent at first. Find more details from the Q&A Sessions in Healthcare to Remote Work.
Vendors
The vendors portion of the event was more based on what seemed interesting to the students. It was nice because it provided more one-on-one time to converse about options.
The vendors included nearby colleges such as Snow, Southwest Tech, SUU, Utah Tech, Dixie Tech, U of U, and Keys to Success. They also had military opportunities like the National Guard, Air Force, Navy, and Marines. Colleges and military were popular booths for the students.
But there were also many jobs in natural resources including working with the DWR, DNR, and National Park Service, as well as other opportunities in health and production with Garfield Memorial Hospital, Garkane, South Central, Great Lakes Cheese and American Packaging Association. These vendors emphasized that you do not always need a college education to be successful in the workplace.
Sponsors for the Rural County Career Fair
The event pulled from many different types of employment around the area. Hopefully the high school students were able to expand their view of the options for careers here in rural counties.
PHS, BVHS, EHS, PHS and WHS wish to express their gratitude to their sponsors: the Garfield, Piute and Wayne county commissioners; Ruby’s Inn; Garkane; the counties’ CTE departments; and Garfield Memorial hospital, without whom the Rural County Career Fair would not have been possible.
Thank you for investing in the future of our children and communities!
– The Byway
More Pictures
Feature image caption: Students listening to the Q&A Session at the Rural County Career Fair. Courtesy BVHS.