High School Students Learn About Opportunities
About 500 students from all DMPS high schools attended the Youth Opportunity Fair at Central Campus on May 6th. Students grabbed information pamphlets and signed up for career and educational opportunities.
Lots of opportunities came knocking yesterday at the third annual Youth Opportunity Fair in the gym at Central Campus for high school students from all around the district. The event that’s coordinated jointly by DMPS, United Way, Wells Fargo and the Evelyn Davis Center was hosted by Hoover two years ago and East last year. This year the thought was to locate it more centrally. In addition to the students already there who regularly attend classes at Central Campus and Central Academy, buses ferried students from the district’s five home high schools to Wednesday’s event. Scavo students also attended for the first time this year.
There were three emphases: summer employment, community service volunteer options that count toward the silver graduation cords and post-secondary education.
Just in case the myriad of agencies and outfits ranging from Art Force Iowa to the National Guard weren’t enough of a curiosity pique by themselves there was the added inducement of CeCe’s pizza. Students who visited at least six booths and had the punch cards to prove it were rewarded with free slices.
But not until they’d wound their way through a maze of possibilities. More than 50 exhibitors were present, taking advantage of opportunities of their own to tap into one of the world’s most abundant, powerful and renewable energy sources – youth!
“The event was a great chance for students to have the experience of speaking with local businesses about employment and volunteer opportunities,” said Lyn Marchant, Community School Coordinator at Scavo. “For some students, this was their first time ever communicating with a potential employer. It was a chance to work out some nerves, see what they did well and identify areas to improve.”
For several hours a space usually reserved for physical education was converted to one focused on a more fiscal type of exercise and learning. The official tally was 251 attendees who got a good workout without breaking a sweat.
