By GABRIELLE SHIOZAWA
Moapa Valley Progress
Moapa Valley High School (MVHS) students usually have to travel to Las Vegas or beyond to meet with college representatives and to be presented with career opportunities. But on Tuesday, October 9, the programs came to them at the MVHS College and Career Fair.
Nearly 30 booths filled the Gary Batchelor Gym for the event, which was attended by over 250 local seniors, underclassmen, and parents. Nevada and Utah colleges, including USU, CSN, SUU, Dixie Tech, UNR, and UNLV handed out brochures and answered questions from prospective students.
Plenty of information was also available for students not planning on taking the traditional post-graduation path. The National Guard, Navy, and Metropolitan Police Department all made appearances at the fair, as did Evans Hair School, John Deere C&F Tech, and the Community College of the Air Force.
Other programs, such as the One Stop Career Center and Mesquite Works, presented opportunities for students to learn job skills, practice interviewing, and gain other real-world experiences.
Sara Ritner, who works as the director of scholarships for the Public Education Foundation was also present to guide students through the scholarship application process.
Upon arrival, students received a signature card. After visiting at least eleven booths and receiving a signature from each, the students could spin the Wheel of Destiny to earn prizes and scholarship money.
They could then enter their card into a grand prize drawing, which featured scholarship money and electric toothbrushes donated by Dr. Lance Robertson, gift cards donated by MVHS, and other college-applicable prizes.
Top winnings, which included a $1,000 scholarship, as well as two $500 prizes, went respectively to Grady Call, Dallas Larsen, and Madison Wolfley.
“I thought it was really successful,” said senior Ashlynn McClure of the fair. “I liked how we had to go around to the different booths and get things marked off, because I actually learned a lot that I might not have learned otherwise.”
“I thought it was awesome,” said Connie Robertson who runs the College and Career Center at MVHS. “Our vendors have been to a lot of college and career fairs, and they said this was one of the better ones because we have great students. The students knew how to ask questions that were pertinent to what they wanted to hear. We had a lot of seniors, but we also had a lot of underclassmen. Hopefully this fair will have them thinking about their futures!”
