Carson High expo shows students careers in Career and Technical Education fields

Carson High School hosted its annual Career and Technical Education Career Expo on Wednesday to showcase the variety of post-secondary options for students.

Hundreds of businesses and organizations set up inside the school for students and families to visit and explore career, college and military options.

“The purpose is to expose students and the community to the businesses and careers out there,” said CTE adviser Michelle Lewis. “We want the businesses to connect with students for job shadowing, internships and possible jobs. And we want the community to see the CTE programs so they have the opportunity to go to different classes and see them. It also helps students make that connection between the businesses and classes.”

Lewis said the expo is perfect for students, as it is right before class registration, so they can see what kinds of courses are offered at the school that may align with future career opportunities.

The CTE program was created by Gov. Brian Sandoval’s education initiative to provide instruction for industry career areas such as agriculture and natural resource management, business and marketing, hospitality and tourism, health science and public safety, information and media technologies, and skilled and technical sciences.

With these programs, students have the option to test for and hold national certificates for the chosen field and some will even be able to graduate high school with college credits or an associate’s degree. It is meant to help teach students the high-demand skills if they decide to pursue a college education or go straight into the workplace after high school.

“It is an intriguing dynamic because we want the kids to see possible future careers,” said co-organizer Richard Kale.

Kale talked about how he understood where the kids were at, how sometimes they just don’t know what to do after high school.

“It gives them a chance to say ‘that looks cool’ and it gives them an opportunity to experience something different and the folks here are hungry for young people,” Kale said. “It is the opportunity for them to learn about something they may not have thought about.”

More than 100 organizations were at the Expo, including Tesla, Starbucks Roasting Plant, Nevada Builders Alliance, Panasonic, Timberline Animal Hospital, University of Nevada Reno and Sierra Nevada College. Businesses ranged from state jobs to engineering to construction.

In addition to the career booths, several CTE programs through Carson High were present to exhibit their organizations. Students in the Culinary Arts, robotics, engineering, graphic design, mechanical engineering, welding and more had demonstrations and information for families to see more what the different fields entail.

For the businesses, the expo was a great way to get their name out there and connect with students who may be coming into the workforce soon.

“It gives direction to the kids because they may not know what they want to do,” said Ken Schulz, personnel analyst with NDOT. “We can give guidance of what classes to take and what to focus on so when they are job hunting we are there because we are always looking for people to fill positions.”

Lewis said the school has received nothing but positive feedback about the expo, and it has grown significantly every year.

“It is a great way for them to advertise and get the word out about what they do,” Lewis said. “They are happy to be here.”

Hundreds of students, teachers and families explored the expo, collecting information and meeting with potential employers.

For some students, the expo did what it was supposed to: introduce them to something they may not have thought about. For two seniors, the event was a great opportunity to pass out resumes to potential employers and see what options are out there.

“There was really cool stuff,” said senior Araceli Galindo. “Like the environmental stuff, I would have never thought about it.”

“There was lots I didn’t know about until today,” added senior Alondia Chavez.