Students at Grapevine-Colleyville ISD’s Bridges Accelerated Learning Center had the opportunity to connect with potential employers, college representatives and military recruiters during a career fair Nov. 16. The fair also offered students a chance to learn career-related and life skills as well.

The details

According to a district news release, numerous classrooms were set up to teach various skills including:

• How to interview, featuring mock interviews where students could interact with guest community members and GCISD administrators
• How to dress for a job interview
• How to manage one’s social media footprint to attract employers
• How to create a personal budget after getting employed

Diving in deeper

Erin Johnson, an administrative assistant at Bridges, holds a bachelor’s degree in communications and a certification in social media strategies. The news release states that she provided students with tips on how to build positive social media footprints, such as:

• Developing a LinkedIn profile
• Keeping a positive social media image
• Performing a Google search of their names

According to the news release, Gale Rivers, who teaches at Bridges, offered lessons in budgeting living expenses, such as rent, transportation and medical insurance, and the importance of saving money.

What they’re saying

“It’s really an opportunity for students to prepare for life after high school,” said Jessica Jones, Bridges Accelerated Learning Center principal. “Once you begin to make money, how do you responsibly finance everything that you earn? We try to support them all the way around so when they leave us, they are prepared for their future.”

“They showed us ways to get us thinking about different opportunities and different career paths,” said Linnea Wheeler, a senior at Bridges. “I know we are not getting jobs today, but I think this will all be a really good advantage after high school.”