AU hosts Junior Achievement event, helping hundreds of students focus on career pathways
ASHLAND, Ohio – Ashland University welcomed more than 1,300 high school and middle school students from across Ashland County to the Niss Athletic Center recently where they had the opportunity to experience a one-of-a-kind career fair event, organized by Junior Achievement of North Central Ohio.
The JA Inspire event at Ashland connected students from grades 7-12 with 52 organizations spanning business and finance, health and human services, agriculture and environmental science, digital marketing and journalism, military and safety services, and traditional trades like construction and electric.
The goal, according to Joshua Lehman, president of Junior Achievement of North Central Ohio, was to introduce students to different careers, encourage them to start exploring what their future may look like and familiarize them with the education and skills necessary to pursue specific careers. Lehman also noted that it was the highlight of a three-part program.
“This is a culminating event for JA Inspire, which is actually multiple lessons in the classroom on why career planning is important, the value of networking, different soft skills that help young people be successful in their career,” said Lehman, who summarized his non-profit organization as a bridge between the world of work and the world of education.
He continued, “(Students) can explore what type of degrees (they) might need for any of these career pathways that are here, and it will even show (them) the cost of an education. There’s a whole piece of it where students can even get a chance to see kind of an ROI, like how much am I going to make after school, how much is that going to look like in terms of student loans. We need every single career that’s here in our community, and we want students to have all the information, the tools, the resources they need to make the decision that’s best for them.”
Many of the business partners provided students with fun, hands-on activities, such as an authentic construction build site including a lift, a nuclear trash can, a punching machine that measured force, impairment goggles, resin pellets that could be transformed into recycling art and multiple virtual reality stations.
One VR station gave students a “how to” look at installing solar panels, changing oil, performing surgery and more, while another, put on by AU’s Workforce Development program, showcased 5G telecommunications, including what it would be like to climb towers and work with fiber optics.
“All of our training is non-credit, and so it can help teams or individuals upskill. For the students, it has some opportunities where they can take 5G whether it’s on their own or with the school,” explained Michelle D’Ambrosio, manager of the Telego Center for Educational Improvement. “We are giving counselors flyers, (describing how to) set that up for them and get that industry certification. So, there’s all kinds of ways we can connect with the audiences here.”
Representatives from AU’s admissions department were also there to provide information and answer questions for students interested in a traditional undergraduate education pathway.
No matter one’s interest, students surely gained new perspectives and the hope for Lehman, D’Ambrosio and other event attendees like State Representative Melanie Miller who were on hand is that they start mapping out their future.
“What I love about this is … because of the state grant we were able to advocate for to receive through the North Central Work Force Alliance, we were able to expand (it),” said Miller, a former volunteer with Junior Achievement herself. “This is really important because we need kids to be thinking about their future. There might be something that clicks … (and) they might think that’s what I want to do when I grow up. You’re going to spend most of your life working, so why not do something that you’re passionate about.”
This marked the first time AU has hosted a JA Inspire event, but it may not be the last after Lehman came away impressed with all of the activity and excitement taking place inside the spacious Niss Athletic Center.
“I absolutely love being a partner of Ashland University on this event,” he said. “I think in some instances, some of these students may have never been on a campus before, and so if we’re talking about really building a workforce for our future, it’s so critical to not only showcase the different careers that are out there but the pathways to those careers. So, having something on Ashland University where a student can come and learn about a career pathway but then also to have that same opportunity to walk (around) and see what the university is like and learn about all the different degree programs and pathways here … that’s why we love having our college and university partners at all our events.”
Miller was also happy to see this latest example of the community and the university working together.
“We appreciate the university always being willing to jump into partnership and collaboration,” she said. “We love AU. We love their commitment to the region, to the city, and so we’re very grateful that there is that unity. We appreciate that they have the facilities to host an event like this, and for the university to see the value in hosting an event like this for our young people. It’s really a win-win for our business communities, for AU.”
