Published Thursday, November 05, 2009 6:05 AM

Students sample job options

By MAGGIE KIELY
maggie.kiely@theeagle.com

Area seventh- and eighth-graders on Wednesday explored the age-old question, "What will I be when I grow up?"

More than 3,000 Brazos Valley students passed by 66 booths set up by businesses at the Bryan-College Station Chamber of Commerce Youth to Career Fair at the Brazos Valley Expo Complex.

Businesses used a variety of tactics to lure students to their booths. The most popular were the booths that allowed students to interact with the presentations, such as the dummy bodies available for students to examine at the registered nurses' booth.

The College Station Fire Department brought extra firefighting gear for students to try on, while the Bryan Fire Department had a fire truck on display. Both booths were a hit.

Students crowded around any booth that was related to a medical or military field and tended to shy away from financial services, such as banks.

But when asked what attracted them to booths, the reply was almost always the same: Candy.

Rick Velez, an English teacher at Jane Long Middle School in Bryan, said the idea behind the career fair wasn't necessarily to get the kids set on one profession, but to make them aware of their options.

"They need to know what all is out there. There is so much more than there used to be," he said. "They don't have to know what they're going to do exactly, but they need to have an idea."

Jordan Meserole, events coordinator for the Chamber of Commerce, said he didn't think the day could have gone better.

"It went fantastic," he said. "All the businesses seemed very pleased, and the students seemed enthusiastic."

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