It wasn’t a typical spring Friday afternoon for the Clarke County School District’s eighth-grade class on March 6. More than 800 CCSD students hopped on school buses for a field trip to Athens Technical College for the Wonders of Work Futures Fair, a hands-on career fair.
From performing CPR on mannequins with local EMTs to identifying animal bones with the University of Georgia’s College of Veterinary Medicine, CCSD students met with working professionals and tried their hands at jobs they could pursue after high school or postsecondary education. In addition to Athens Tech and local health care providers, several UGA schools and colleges hosted tables to showcase academic programs and their associated careers.
The event was held in partnership between CCSD, Athens Tech and the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce to showcase the more than 24 career, technical and agricultural education pathways offered by the school district and Athens Tech. These pathways can lead to jobs in fields as widespread as plant and floral design, culinary arts, engineering technology and phlebotomy, among others.
“The Wonders of Work Futures Fair has been a dream of ours for several years, so to see it come together for our eighth graders was literally a dream come true. It was an exciting day that allowed our students to experience potential career pathways and think ahead about their high school journey,” said Jennifer Scott, interim superintendent of Clarke County School District. “Most importantly, this event demonstrates what happens when we work together as a community. We appreciate our incredible partners in education and business as well as the sponsors, volunteers and other supporters who made this day happen. We are truly better together.”
Many UGA students, faculty and staff joined the event to showcase academic programs and associated jobs. Flanked by an inflatable Hairy Dawg and an interactive replica of a cow’s heart, veterinary college faculty and students highlighted technician positions in their field. These jobs are a critical component in the animal health care pipeline and are often lesser-known positions than veterinarians, explained Olivia Williams, director of nursing for UGA’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital.
“This is the first time that we have been out to promote vet techs as a career,” Williams said. “The students at this event have been so engaged and so excited. Many of them didn’t know what a vet tech was, and we were able to talk about it with them.”
Williams — a veterinary technician herself — was excited to showcase a career that she has found to be exciting and fulfilling.
Jason Payton, who leads the UGA School of Medicine’s Office of Community Engagement, volunteered at the event and was accompanied by several Augusta University/University of Georgia Medical Partnership students. They connected with eighth graders, provided event support and showcased options for medical education in Athens.
“Events like Wonders of Work are powerful because they introduce students to the wide range of careers that help communities function and grow, including the many roles that make health care possible,” Payton said. “For our faculty and our Pathways to Medicine student team, WOW offered an incredible opportunity to help students imagine prosperous futures while supporting the efforts of community and industry partners in the shared effort to strengthen Georgia’s future health care workforce.”
This event not only provided Athens’ eighth graders with a fun opportunity to explore future possibilities, but it also supported the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce’s objective to grow the population of talented employees and entrepreneurs in Athens.
“The first Annual WOW Futures Fair was a tremendous success that really exemplified the Athens Achieves mission to unite business, education and local government to enhance Athens’ strong workforce pipeline,” said Alvie Coes, chief workforce officer for Athens Achieves. “It was really exciting to see more than 50 local employers connect with hundreds of eighth graders and talk about the possibilities of careers in advanced manufacturing, hospitality, health care, skilled trades and more.”