Jackson FBLA Hosts Career Fair

(left) FBLA members who participated in hosting the Career Fair. Members served as guides. (right) A representative from Missouri Dept of Conservation presenting information about careers in conservation.

On Friday, January 18th, the Jackson Chapter of the Future Business Leaders of America held their annual Sixth Grade Career Fair at the Jackson Middle School. FBLA partnered with 24 businesses while over 450 students toured the various business stations, learning about careers found in the workforce today. Immaculate Conception, St. Paul Lutheran School, and Jackson Middle School have been proud participants at the Career Fair for many years and are impressed with the level of work and dedication required to host such a project.

Committee chairpersons of this event were Melissa Stephens, Paxton Lemmons, and Rachel Smith. Together, they spent over 150 hours planning the event. In planning the Career Fair, FBLA wanted to teach students about the six career pathways and begin to find careers that may interest them down the road. Correlating with the Career Paths class all sixth graders are required to take at Jackson Middle School, it was a nice summary of everything they had learned.

At the end of the event, all businesses are given certificates of appreciation on the day of the career fair, and thank-you letters are sent out the following week. Lunch is also provided as a special way for FBLA to say thanks for the time that businesses gave them. The Career Fair has been deemed a success for many years, as kids, FBLA members, and businesses alike have all learned new things and experienced a truly unique program dedicated to improving our community. Any businesses that would like to be involved are invited to call Jackson High School FBLA and ask about involvement in next year's program.