By Josie Sellers For The Beacon

All juniors and seniors in the county were invited to attend the annual Coshocton CARES College & Career Fair on Oct . 15 from 8:30 a . m . to 1:30 p . m . in the Coshocton Community Room . It was sponsored by Kiwanis and McWane Ductile .

“ We used to hold this in the evening , but we were lucky if we got 40 people ,” said Kathy Bigrigg , director of Coshocton CARES . “ Kids and parents are just so busy with activities then . Our goal is to get kids in front of representatives , whether they are from an employer , college , trade school or the military .”

The Coshocton CARES advisers went into the schools to prepare students

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Johnson is familyfocused and cares for her elderly father . She enjoys making time for her nephews and long-term friendships . “ Family is important . My people are here , and I have everything I need ,” she said .

When asked why she decided to participate in Leadership Coshocton County , Johnson said , “ There are changes taking place within the agency

with questions to ask college representatives and inform them about the different businesses and organizations attending .

“ We wanted them to feel confident in front of these people ,” Bigrigg said .

Tyler Ferrell , a senior at River View High School , said he found the event useful .

“ It ’ s definitely interesting ,” he said . “ I ’ ve been looking around at different things .”

Ferrell is not positive what he wants to do after graduation . “ I know I don ’ t like sitting still ,” he said .

River View senior Destiny Gallagher thought the trip to the college and career fair was helpful .

“ I want to go into early childhood education ,” she said . “ I ’ m good with children .”

with people nearing retirement . Looking toward taking on responsibilities , I wanted to have an easy transition . Both Vicki ( Laudick-Casey ) and Megan ( Philabaum ) spoke very highly of their experiences and how much they enjoyed it . Now was the time .”

Johnson wanted to participate to expand her network . “ I really like the connections I ’ ve been able to make . I don ’ t know if the people I ’ ve met can be a resource , but they are good

Josie Sellers

Students were able to visit with military recruiters and admission counselors from more than 40 colleges , universities , technical schools and trade schools . Also at the fair were over 20 local and county employers and trade unions .

Kaytee Rice , another senior at River View , came to get information on Ohio State ATI .

“ They are focused on livestock , and I ’ d like to stay around that ,” she said . “ I ’ ve gotten a lot of information .”

connections to have . I ’ ve made relationships already that I would not have otherwise ,” she said .

Of the community , Johnson said , “( It ) is always in flux — growth , fall back , growth , fall back . People get invigorated about an issue and come together to address it . They work strongly toward a common goal . Then it falls by the wayside .”

Johnson isn ’ t sure what would make the county stronger , referencing her point about the state of

River View junior Riley Robins picked up some information from Ohio University .

“ I want to study psychology ,” she said . “ I think learning about how the brain works is cool .”

flux : “ Any improvement or sustainable anything , there are no guarantees . For example , there are no financial guarantees that you ’ ll receive the same funding the next year or cycle . If there were a straightforward way to fix it , it would have

Daniel McCarthy , a senior at River View , liked that he got to meet with people face to face .

The Ohio Division of Wildlife was represented at the fair by Coshocton County wildlife officer Jerrod Allison .

“ This gives us the opportunity to talk to young people and let them know what type of education and requirements there are for jobs before they start college ,” he said . “ There are lots of different jobs in the division of wildlife .”

Taylor Smith and Lynn Jacobs from OhioMeansJobs Coshocton County also attended the fair .

“ I didn ’ t have anything like this when I was in school ,” Smith said . “ I think it ’ s helpful , especially for those who want to go straight into the workforce .”

been resolved already . It ’ s a constant flux .”

When asked if she would recommend LCC for others , Johnson said , “ I think it ’ s a great opportunity to get out of your comfort zone but in a safe space . I suspect that there

Jacobs said they brought with them a virtual reality program that gives people a look at around 40 different careers .

“ If you want to be a welder , you can take a look at what that would be like ,” he said . “ They even do a knee replacement on there , and it ’ s pretty realistic .”

Coshocton CARES representatives work with the schools to bus students to the fair around their lunch schedules . They also got the word out to the Coshocton Christian School , homeschool groups , high school students taking full-time college courses and the Coshocton Alternative School and worked with neighbors of the community room to make sure there was ample parking .

“ This is a huge community effort ,” Bigrigg said .

are going to be points that each of us will have a realization about ourselves that we didn ’ t have . I ’ m excited to see what that will be in me and looking forward to watching others grow and develop as that ’ s the version I ’ ll be working with .”

For Purchasing my Market Hog

KEENE KOUNTRY KIDS

BRYNN WATERS RIDGEWOOD FFA

MADISON HAGANS ABOVE AND BEYOND 4-H CLUB

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