More than 600 8^th grade students attended the Harrison County Chamber of Commerce Career Connections event Wednesday at Village Square Conference Center.

 

The students visited several dozen booths hosted by area businesses, gaining valuable up-close and in some instances hands-on about potential careers.

 

“I learned that there’s actually a lot more jobs out there and more educational opportunities in West Virginia and here locally than I thought,” said Caroline Deniker of Bridgeport Middle School. “People don’t have to leave West Virginia. They can stay right here and do whatever they want.”

The Thrasher Group was on hand, teaching students about environmental architecture, survey and site development.

 

“We have with us our bat biologist, Malachia Evans, who shared with the kids all the cool things she does,” said Kayla Lantz, talent acquisition manager with The Thrasher Group. “We also brought our drone that we use in our survey department that helps with our scanning capabilities.”

 

Close by was ACS - Applied Construction Solutions – which specializes in the natural gas industry. Students were welcome to stop by and try on a fall restraint system, which they would wear if they worked in the field.

 

“There’s a harness, which if you happen to fall, distributes your weight so you don’t tear a ligament, break an arm or something,” said Scott Simmons of ACS. “There’s also an SRL – self-retracting lanyard  that works like a seatbelt. You can pull it out as far as six feet, so if you’re tied to a man basket, you can move back and forth six feet and if you happen to fall, it will catch you.”

 

The fall restraint system must be utilized by any ACS employees working higher than four feet, Simmons said.

 

The health industry was represented by WVU Medicine, as well as medical imaging techs and others in the hospital/personal care fields.

 

Ava Turpin of BMS said nursing was one of the careers she was most interested in. She said she visited many other booths and that everyone she talked with did a good job explaining the career choices.

 

The media industry was represented by WDTV and WBOY. Ben Queen Photography print out photos of some of the students' favorite WVU athletes and cheerleaders. Some of Steptoe & Johnson’s youngest attorneys were on hand to talk with students.

 

In addition to information, many businesses offered freebies to the students. BMS student Lexi Gump and her friends particularly liked the scrunchies gifted by Clarksburg Beauty Academy. Gump said she liked learning about all the professions. The information she gained might just help her decide on a career choice someday.

 

Aurora Flight Services and Pierpont’s Aviation Maintenance Technology program were represented. Several students, including Bridgeport Middle’s Kaylee Reed, said they were drawn to the flight-related careers.

 

Tanner Hathaway said he had never really given much thought about what career field he would someday pursue, but he liked the opportunity to browse through and gain important information about his choices.

 

Chamber President Kathy Wagner said the organization is proud to host Career Connections each year, bringing business representatives and aspiring students together in one place.

 

Careers were divided by type with Art, Technology, Communications and Media in one area; Construction, Engineering and Architecture in another area, etc. 

 

“It was cool to see all the options we have to help us decide what we want to do when we’re older,” said BMS student Riley Suter.