Approximately 1,300 students from eight area middle schools learned about career possibilities Wednesday at the Kosciusko Career Expo. According to Warsaw/Kosciusko County Chamber of Commerce Workforce Development Committee Chair Darryl Smith, the Chamber has held the event for many years. The schools coordinate with the students, who select three careers they are interested in to get more information about at the expo. Many of the exhibitors had hands-on activities the students could try. “It really is a coordinated effort between the Chamber and the schools,” he said. Smith said the expo helps inform the students about what their interests are. It’s a chance for students to communicate with people in those careers and find out what kind of experience and education they need. There were careers represented that require four-year degrees, two-year degrees and no degrees. Some companies return every year to the expo, while some are new. “They (the students) enjoy it. They get a lot out of it. They do some follow-up reports at the schools,” Smith said. Students attend the expo from host school Lakeview Middle School, Tippecanoe Valley, Fairfield, Wawasee, Milford, Whitko and Edgewood Middle Schools as well as the Gateway Educational Center. “We get a lot of good feedback on this,” Smith reported. Brian Walsh, owner of 98.3FM WIOE, broadcasted from the expo with students from Warsaw Community High School’s mass media class. He said the high school students work really well with the middle school students and show them that when they get into high school, they can do broadcasting, too. Indiana Department of Natural Resources Conservation Officer Nick Vandermolen has been with the DNR for eight months. He had students asking him about the hours he worked, a typical day, likes and dislikes about the job, experience and education. “You can tell the ones that are really interested and ones that are just filling out the paperwork,” Vandermolen said. “The ones that really are interested go off the paper and talk about their own experiences ... Those conversations are fun.” Teachers Credit Union is the sponsor of the expo. Assistant Manager Cassie Peyton and teller Jessica Hawn represented TCU at its booth. Peyton said some of the students were going off the sheets their schools provided and asking for more information than starting salaries, job outlook and weekly hours. “Some ask me what I personally like about my job. A lot of things. It’s a variety every day. They’re very flexible with my schedule,” said Hawn, who also is a full-time student. TCU was started by teachers, Peyton said, so education is very important to it. The credit union doesn’t give a lot of funding out, she continued, but when it does, it makes sure the funding benefits the community. Warsaw Police Dept. Corp. Doug Light and Sgt. Dave Morales were asked about a typical day for law enforcement and what kind of education one needed to be an officer. “We tell them the minimum is high school, but you can’t apply until you’re 21 so we say you should get at least a two-year degree,” Light said. The police department offers a variety of opportunities, including scuba and SWAT teams, bike patrol and task forces. Light said in high school he wanted to be a teacher, pilot or law enforcement officer. As a WPD and DARE officer, he said he got two of the three. “Some day, maybe I’ll get my pilot’s license,” he said. Morales said the career expo was important to give students options so they can plan their futures and goals. “The other side is for them to make the right choices,” Morales continued, because the wrong choices could affect their future and the career they want. Light said there is a lot of stability with their profession. Morales said a lot of trust comes with their profession because “you don’t want anyone shady.” All his life, Jeremy Williams wanted to be a firefighter. He’s now one with the Warsaw Fire Department. He said many students were surprised when he told them firefighters work 24-hour shifts. “A lot were shocked by that,” he emphasized. Multi-Township EMS Public Education Director Tony Boyle said many of the students wanted to know about the “gore” the EMTs saw. Anyone interested in the field needs a three- to four-year associate’s degree, he said. EMT Tyler Huffer said they also need anatomy, biology, physiology, psychology and sociology. “One of the biggest things is there’s a large turnover. Many use the EMS as a stepping stone to nursing or becoming a doctor. It’s a good stepping-stone career,” Boyle said. Michelle Reiter is a design engineer with DePuy. “I work for DePuy but I’m promoting design,” she said. “As a designer, there are so many fields. I ended up in orthopedics, but you can go anywhere. ... Design has so many fields.” Kosciusko Community Hospital physical therapist Matt Hauck became interested in his career field when he was injured in high school playing football. He had to get a lot of physical therapy himself, so that nudged him into that for a career. “I grew up in the area so I decided to come back after physical therapy school,” he said. KCH has five physical therapists, five physical therapist assistants and a lot of support staff. “It’s a rapidly growing field,” Hauck said. “The baby boomers are retiring. A lot more injuries and surgeries.” Wawasee seventh-grader Dalin Powell was impressed with the career expo. “I think it’s very interesting. I got a better plan for my future,” Powell said. He was very interested in the U.S. Army National Guard and the culinary arts. Milford seventh-grader Leia Munn said the expo was giving her ideas for jobs, but she mostly was interested in nursing “because I like helping people and babies.”
