photo by: Emma Delk

WVU Extension Agriculture Program Assistant Ainsley Gray shares what her organization has to offer with Moundsville Middle School students on Friday.

MOUNDSVILLE — Students at Moundsville Middle School were introduced to the various schooling and career options available after high school during the school’s career fair at the John Marshall Field House.

More than 30 representatives from local schools, businesses, trade unions and government organizations gathered at the field house on Friday to share what they offer and answer questions from curious students.

Various businesses were represented, including Ascent Financial Group, Sweet Notes Bakery and Westlake chemical plant. The schools represented at the event included West Virginia University, West Liberty University and West Virginia Northern Community College. Local police and fire departments, sheriff’s offices and representatives from the City of Moundsville were also present.

The middle school’s sixth, seventh and eighth graders each had a turn to visit the booths at the fair. To encourage them to interact with the representatives at each table, students were given bingo sheets with various questions and tasks to complete, such as “find a job that requires physical work.”

Moundsville Middle School Counselor Abby Aston noted that though the middle schoolers were still “pretty young” to consider potential career paths, the fair would help them “see what’s out there.”

“This is to help them start dreaming about their future career because a lot of them don’t even realize the jobs in our community,” Aston said. “It’s just kind of neat to see their wheels start turning as they learn what they could do.”

Aston added that the fair would also help students see what profession within the state’s 16 career clusters they may be interested in pursuing after high school. She noted that not only colleges but also trade unions and other careers were represented at the fair so that students could learn about the options available to them beyond higher education.

After stopping by some booths at the fair, Eighth grader Aubrie Hehle said the fair opened her eyes to other career options besides her main career aspiration of becoming a photographer. She particularly enjoyed visiting the Moundsville-Marshall County Public Library table.

“I want to be a photographer, but this fair helped me think about the other careers I could do,” Hehle said. “Now I have in mind that I could be a librarian, which I didn’t consider before.”

Beyond learning about potential career paths, Hehle also found the fair helpful for learning about the other services local agencies and businesses offer. She noted that visiting the West Virginia Department of Motor Vehicle’s table taught her that she could take her permit test for her driver’s license when she was 15 years old, which she now planned to do.

“I got a book [from the DMV table] for it [the permit test], so I want to study to take the test,” Hehle said. “I also learned about the stuff available at the library, which was interesting because I’ve never been there. I always forget about it [the library], but now I’m excited to go.”

Grave Creek Mound Archaeological Complex Programs Coordinator Kate Arbogast was surprised by the students’ interest in the museum’s various programs and activities during the career fair. She assumed students would mainly be interested in speaking with Americorps service member Riley Phares, an archeologist in training who works at the complex stationed at the mound’s table.

“Riley has been able to teach the students about the preservation aspect of Grave Creek Mound, which includes archeologists and curators,” Arbogast said. “I’m surprised that there have also been a lot of students that want to talk to me about the special events and programs I develop for the museum. I’ve been encouraging interested students to research other museum careers through the American Alliance of Museums.”