Kern County Career Expo helps students pave their future

Collin Koch, Reporter

Students in middle school through recent high school graduates had a night to get an insight into what they could do in the near future. Employers from all different scales of industry came to talk to the thousands of students on the night of March 5, at the Kern County Career Expo.

Brian Miller, Principal of The Regional Occupational Center (ROC) and is a part of the current Kern County Career Expo committee said, “The goal of the Kern County Career Expo is to expose middle school students, high school students, and recent graduates to all of the great career opportunities that we have here in Kern County.”

From Bolthouse farms to the city of Bakersfield there were all sorts of opportunities for the students to ask for more information about what each industry & entity does. ROC, Bakersfield College, Taft College, and even CSUB were all in attendance to talk to the students about what they can do to prepare for the future.

Bakersfield College Motorsports team had its race car on display and often revved the car to gather the attention of the students to learn more about its program.

Diana Barrick, a BC student, said, “We are wanting to reach out to students interested into the automotive industry so they can move forward in the industry such as owning your own shop, working at a dealership, and it is just a different way to see different jobs while still in high school.”

There was a virtual reality welding system and the law enforcement let kids sit in cars, see the equipment, and get a little hand on experience.

This was the third annual event hosted by the Kern High School District and they plan on providing students more and more opportunities for them to ask questions about certain career fields in different industries throughout Kern County.