Future Forward Career Fair
Future Forward: Providing College and Career Tools for Mentees
In life, as in carpentry, success depends on having the right tools for the job. But if you’re a student preparing for college or the job field, where do you get these tools? How do you know what tools you need? Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Texas is offering answers to these questions with Future Forward, a special career fair for our mentees, their families, and their Bigs set for April 6 from 1:00 pm -4:00 pm at the BBBS Mentoring Center.
Build, Empower, and Connect is the goal of the event as students will have the opportunity to build some new skills, to connect with employers and community partners, all of which will empower them to achieve their career goals. Students need to sign up soon though, as the event will be capped at 200 attendees.
“This is the first ever,” said Jade Lopez, Scholarship Program Coordinator, who is a co-organizer of the event. “I’m excited because we are offering a unique opportunity specifically for our BBBS family. We want to provide some of this information because there are disparities in understanding how to do some of these things. So, for students, we’re saying ‘Here are some seminars that will be helpful to you on your career path. Here are some employers. Here are some resources…’ We want it to be a one-stop for everything.”
Part of the one-stop focus is on training. “Specifically geared for our high school and post-18 mentees, there will be six breakout sessions to help these students on their career paths,” said Christina Eisenlord, Big Futures Program Manager, and co-organizer of the event. “Sessions include Resumes, College Readiness, Study Tips, FAFSA and Apply Texas, Career Exploration, and Making the Most of LinkedIn. These are the areas that I’ve seen within my caseload that pose the biggest challenge for students as they’re trying to figure things out.”
Students are encouraged to prepare some materials ahead of time such as starting on their resumes. That way they can take advantage of the resume session to polish and tweak their information, print their resume out on-site, and then take it with them as they talk to participating employers, if they choose.
A number of local employers will be on hand to talk with attendees. “John Deere, Austin/Travis County EMS, Austin INFINITI, Amazon Web Services, Goodwill, and others,” said Christina. “The list will continue to grow.”
Community partners participating in the event include Austin Community College, Capital IDEA, College Contact, Dress for Success Austin, E4Youth, Home Builders Association, Park University, The College of Healthcare Professions, Skillpoint Alliance and many others. These groups will be on hand to provide helpful information and answer questions from mentees and their families.
“We want to welcome our mentees and their families to explore all that our partners, employers and our city has to offer,” said Christina. “Plus, we want them to get some one-on-one support for things that will boost them to the next step in their ‘post-18’ world.”
It will not be all work and no play, however. Attendees will receive helpful swag items such as pens, notebooks, and water bottles when they sign in; plus, they can enter a free raffle drawing for a variety of prizes including a clipper set and haircuts by Skinny’s Barber Shop, Chromebooks, and more. All mentees attending will also have the option of enjoying a free haircut provided by Skinny’s Barber Shop. Food and beverages will also be provided.
For BBBS it is an event come true. “I’ve been wanting to do this for a while,” said Christina, whose focus is on supporting our mentees if they opt to continue their matches after high school and enter the post-secondary and employment world. “I’ve wanted to create a space where mentees and their families can get connected to the benefits available within our city. I’m excited to have this event and do our part to empower, build up and connect… and for them to have some fun!”
A final word – there are still openings for employers who are hiring and who would like to participate. Contact Christina Eisenlord at Ceisenlord@bigmentoring.org or Jade Lopez at Jlopez@bigmentoring.org.
Special thanks to event sponsors John Deere, Skinny’s Barber Shop, T-Mobile Project 10 Million, Up Front Letterpress and VIA 313 Pizza.
Check out this link to register for the event: https://bbbs.tfaforms.net/f/futureforward
Visit our Future Forward web page to learn more: https://www.bigmentoring.org/future-forward/
