ST. JOSEPH — More than 100 students in search of a career met with dozens of professionals Monday for a unique event at St. Joseph High School.
As 35 professionals met in-person and virtually in the high school’s competition gym, 125 students ventured to different tables to learn about how each individual got to where they are now.
Angie Mellott, a business teacher at the high school, said they chose the professionals based on a list of careers her students submitted.
“Usually what happens is I have speakers come into my classroom based on my connections in the community,” Mellott said. “But I wanted to do more, so I worked with Jackie (Huie) and Tracy (Wagner) to try to figure out how could we get more students interested in this fair.”
Together, they brought in doctors, designers, marketers, sales representatives, engineers, architects and public safety officials. The event itself was sponsored by the Rotary Club of St. Joseph-Benton Harbor.
Two of the more popular asks from Mellott’s students were for real estate and marketing. She said their plan was to see how impactful a one-on-one conversation with a professional would be.
Guidance Counselor Tracy Wagner said the fair was important to expose students to career’s they might have never considered.
“We’re just grateful for the community that’s willing to come out and work with our students,” she said. “Any time they’re willing to invest in our youth, it’s great for everyone.
Interact Club Mentoring Director Noah Shine was busy setting up the various stations for the visiting professionals Monday. Shine said it took a few months to plan the event and track down willing participants.
“All of the students here can learn so much about their potential jobs and what they want to go into,” said Shine, who is a 10th-grader at St. Joseph. “They can learn the paths and what they want to do. This event is about learning what colleges they should go to and what classes they should take.”
Entrepreneur Lisa Nicole was set up to discuss the elements of design.
As owner of Lisa Nicole & Company, the South Bend resident spoke to students about her early efforts and the beginning of her career when it came to creating clothing. With 20 years of experience in the fashion industry, Nicole said she was excited to share how she used the Upward Bound program to guide her career.
“I feel like this opportunity to be here is very full circle, because I was just like the kids here today,” Nicole said.
She graduated from the International Academy of Design and Technology in Chicago, and has been working in various avenues in fashion.
“I went to school and I inquired $100,000 in debt when I graduated, so I want the kids to know you can start off on a smaller scale,” Nicole said. “As for advice, I’ve been saying you can go through different avenues of the fashion degree program. You can be self taught. You can take classes outside of going to college. You can just completely educate yourself.”
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