Submitted photo A group of students from Elkins Middle School visit a table set up by employees from the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources during a Career Day Fair held at the Phil Gainer Community Center.

ELKINS — Elkins Middle School hosted a Career Day Fair for its students Thursday at the Phil Gainer Community Center.

The event featured three separate sessions and was available to all grade levels at the school. More than 30 community participants, including businesses and educational and services organizations, attended the fair. Restaurants, artists, banks, lawyers, healthcare providers, colleges and other entities provided students with information on possible career opportunities.

“All of our students, except for a few sixth graders who went on a field trip, attended the Career Day Fair,” Elkins Middle School counselor Connie Townsend, who helped organize the event, told The Inter-Mountain. “This is the first time that we have done one of these events for some time and the participation was fantastic. It is something we would like to continue to do every year.”

Townsend was especially pleased with the City of Elkins’ participation at Career Day. Mayor Jerry Marco was joined at the event by City Hall employees, City Council members, Police Department and Fire Department representatives, and Operations Department, Street Department, Water Department and Wastewater Department employees.

“The City of Elkins really turned out for our students at Career Day,” Townsend said. “They brought over a lot of equipment from the many different departments they have. We really appreciate their participation and the kids enjoyed talking to their many different employees.” 

The City of Elkins provided several interactive educational activities for students, including a drone demonstration from the Elkins Police Department. The Elkins Fire Department also allowed students to try on some of their gear.

“To the city staff and all the workers, you did a tremendous job,” Marco said in a press release. “You represented us in a fantastic manner and you know, hats off to you. Thank you so much for that.”

Students and presenters alike seemed to enjoy the event.

“We had some really good feedback from all of our participants who came in and sat up at the fair,” Townsend said. “They all said that our students were excited to learn about the careers they were presenting to them, and that they were very well behaved. The presenters seemed to have a really good time and we heard that the kids were saying things like ‘this is the best day ever.'”

Other Career Day participants included: All Creatures Great and Small; Artists at Work; AT&T; Bush, Zurbuch & Thompson Law; Civil Air Patrol; Davis Trust Bank; Elkins Parks and Recreation; Ging Rolls and Pancit; Greenfield Cabinetry; Huttonsville Correctional Center; Job Corps of Charleston; Kump Education Center; Mountain Valley Bank; NVIDIA; Pierpont Community College; Randolph/Tucker Child Advocacy Center; Randolph County Housing Authority; Space Telescope Science Institute; Spruce Knob Mt. Center Experience Learning; The Southern Kitchen; Elkins Sewing Center; U.S. Forestry Service; WV Division of Natural Resources; WV Division of Rehabilitation Services; and Youth Health Services.