MARTINSVILLE, Va. – Martinsville City Schools is helping its middle school students learn more about what they want to be when they grow up by hosting a career fair called CTE Discovery Career Quest. It’s taking place October 8 at 10 am at the Big Chair Parking Lot in Uptown Martinsville.
CTE Teacher Greg Hackenberg said this career fair is specifically for eighth graders, and it gives them a chance to see what people in their backyards do for a living.
“This one is local businesses that we’ve reached out to. A lot of local entrepreneurs and the great thing about this is they get to see actual people in their own community who are starting their own businesses and being successful,” said Hackenberg.
This is something that eighth grader Bridgette Brent said she is looking forward to learning.
“I’m mostly excited about how you start a business like how do you even get it started basically,” said Brent
Brent said she doesn’t know what she wants to be when she grows up but she hopes the career fair will help her.
“I think for a while I was like I’m gonna be an astronaut, but I think you gotta be a little more realistic than that sometimes cuz that it might be plan A but plan A may not go well so you need a plan B and I think this will be good for that,” said Brent.
At the CTE Discovery Career Quest, there will be about 20 different businesses. Some of the businesses are from the Martinsville Police Department, beauty shops, and even the local public school system.
10 News is told there will even be a scavenger hunt for kids to complete.
Virginia Career Works will also be at the career fair later today. It helps Virginians find jobs. She said this event will be great because it will help kids realize there are jobs they can do in their backyards.
“There are a lot of careers that are continuing to pop up every day and we have businesses that are coming in as well that can lead to a viable lifestyle and income. So, we do have individuals who don’t want to leave this community and want to give back and they can do so by working and living here,” Sheneka Hairston with Virginia Career Works
Hackenberg said the fair can also serve as a sort of pipeline for kids.
“They can take entrepreneurship classes in high school. We offer amazing internships at our high school through our CTE program and there are already former students that I’ve had that have gone through that who have participated who are in university or maybe even in the workforce just from that experience,” said Hackenberg.