School News
- Last Updated on Tuesday, 25 April 2023 13:29
Thomas Jefferson High School’s first Career Fair was a tremendous success, with TJ students having an opportunity to interact with the nearly 60 vendors who attended.
Representatives from the businesses and organizations visited with more than 900 TJ students and discussed part-time and full-time job opportunities, internships and careers in a variety of industries. Students were able to apply for jobs on location with several of the vendors.
The career fair was primarily organized by Ken Gruntz, TJ’s Work-Study Coordinator and Industrial Technology teacher, Business teacher/INCubator advisor Lisa Kostella and TJ students who are members of the National Business Honor Society, which Kostella advises.
“The Career Fair was a good opportunity for students to think about their future,” Gruntz said. “It was great to see freshmen through the seniors engaging with all of the vendors. The response from all of the varied companies and organizations was fantastic. Many of the attendees commented to me that our students were asking great questions and how articulate they were. Hopefully, our students benefited from this experience, and we look forward to growing the career fair in the future.”
"This was a fantastic opportunity for Thomas Jefferson students to learn about many different careers and to network with business professionals!” stated Kostella. “The response has been positive from students and vendors alike. TJ's National Business Honor Society students did a remarkable job running the event. Vendors mentioned how this was the most well-organized high school career fair they've attended. We are beyond thankful for the people who volunteered their time to make this fair a success; we could not have done it without them.”
"As we think about future career fairs, we would love to involve more attendees related to STEM, arts/production, medical/sports medicine, government and computer science," Kostella added.
The 59 businesses and organizations attending the career fair included vendors from: Healthcare, Local Unions and Trades (Steamfitters, Bricklayers, Boilermakers, Sheet Metal and Utility workers), Law Enforcement and First Responders, Colleges, Universities and Education, Retail, Military, Construction and Engineering, Technology Solutions, Restaurants, Real Estate, Media, Leisure and Hospitality, Banking and Financial Services, Energy, Automotive and Aviation.