Kirbyville Middle School hosts Career Fair

On April 15, Kirbyville Middle School hosted a Career Fair to familiarize students with a variety of careers and give them a chance to meet people working in those jobs around Taney County. 

From 8:30 to 11 a.m., students in grades four through eight took turns attending the fair. It was evident the teachers and administrators, including librarian Alexandrea Bowman who coordinated the event, had prepared the students well with possible questions to ask and even some advance research about the jobs. 

Representatives attending included several types of work: 

●      Woodcarvers Mary Bowman and Sheila Bowman with Peter Engler Designs 

●      Photographer Janie Loftin  

●      Videographer/filmmaker Chris Canote 

●      Arborists Robbie States and Tyler Lange, Benoit’s Tree Care 

●      Missouri State Parks/Conservation, Caylen Cantrell and Sam Blecha  

●      Taney County Health Department, Lindsay Lawver and Abbi Vachon  

●      MSG Tyler Thiemann, U.S. Army 

●      Great River Engineering, Adnan Rauf, Nathan Small and Matthew Jones  

●      Branson Fire & Rescue, Mike Novak, Jacy Snider and Gabe Brust  

●      White River Valley Electric Cooperative Corporation, Nathan Stearns  

●      Rose Backlin, Backlin Real Estate 

●      Taney County Sheriff’s Office, Officer Chris Sims 

●      Patriot Heating & Air, Miranda Rought, Justina Mejia and Trevor Clifton  

●      Branson Globe writer/freelance writer Cynthia Thomas 

From this writer’s perspective, the Career Fair was a worthwhile investment of time, as many students had good questions and listened attentively to suggestions. (Several wanted to know more about opportunities for working as a writer, and one young lady has even written a children’s storybook!) While some students were obviously excited about the more “action-oriented” careers represented, several spent considerable time with the artists and creatives as well. One student stated that identifying animal pelts and learning about conservationists’ work to keep our state parks natural and safe, was his favorite table to visit; another boy said it was “really interesting” to learn about how the internet gets to his house. 

“The Career Fair was a big hit with the kids,” said Ms. Bowman. “They loved getting to meet everyone and have already started talking about it for next year!” 

Area businesses and professionals are encouraged to invest in Career Day connections at area schools, partnering with educators to motivate students and help them find areas of interest for future employment.