Written by: Ainsley Hall and published in The Martinsburg Journal on March 4, 2025, link to the article HERE.
HEDGESVILLE — Hedgesville High School hosted its first career fair on Wednesday, where juniors and seniors had the opportunity to learn more about different career paths after graduation.
Students also got to see several different careers, learn about current job openings and find what might interest them in the future.
Counselor Hannah Carl organized the event, because she wanted to find a way to give students the chance to learn more about the different opportunities available to them. Students don’t necessarily have to go to college to have a successful career, so Carl wanted to show them other options.
She invited 35 different organizations to get involved, including Berkeley County Schools, Walmart, the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Department, Hospice of the Panhandle, local realtors, the Harpers Ferry School of Massage and many more.
“We are super fortunate to have so many opportunities in our area,” Carl said. “It’s also great to have so many come out to participate and support our students.”
Throughout the day, around 550-600 students had 20 minutes to talk to the different professionals who visited. Carl shared that since this was the first time the school put this event together, students were excited and looked forward to meeting the different presenters. They got to ask them questions, learn more about what they do, make connections and get more ideas of what they would like to do in the future.
Ashlyn Barrick is an 11th-grade student at Hedgesville High School, who participated in the fair. She is currently job hunting and looking for new opportunities. The career fair gave her the chance to see some of the options open to her and even gave her the chance to submit two different job applications.
“This event is definitely important, because a lot of kids don’t have the resources to find job opportunities,” Barrick said. “It gives them the chance to see what’s out there and find something that works for them.”
Carl hopes to make the career fair an annual event and get more organizations involved every year. She looks forward to connecting with other businesses and continuing to get the word out about the different resources and pathways for students.