On March 26, Cardozo hosted their 8th annual career fair, where over 70 representatives from various fields came to speak to sophomores, juniors, and seniors about prospective career paths post-high school. 

From the media to law, military, and banking, some of the most notable professionals at the career fair included financial consultants, journalists, FBI agents, aerospace engineers, and individuals from the U.S. Army and Marines. The multitude of different professionals allowed students to have a broad view of careers and passions they may want to pursue after graduation. 

“The goal for the career fair every year is to bring in professionals from a variety of fields so that students have a good opportunity to network and help jumpstart their post-high school plans,” said Mrs. Gutterman, one of the event organizers. “Sometimes, the pressure to choose a field and a major in college can be a lot for teenagers.”

Students attended the career fair through their physical education, health, and dance classes throughout the day. The 70+ professionals that were in attendance were set up individually at tables, ready to speak to students and hand out informational brochures, swag, and information. 

Mrs. Gutterman mentioned that the conversations students have with these professionals can benefit them because they allow them to enhance communication skills, improve their confidence, and overall help them get out of their shell. Students are more shy when it comes to conversing with other individuals, but a career fair allows students to develop or enhance these soft skills.

“Having this fair can help alleviate some of that pressure if students can speak to others who have done the work to succeed,” she said. 

When doing initial outreach for the event, Mrs. Gutterman aimed to target careers that are broad, but also specific and tied to the programs we have at our school. These include computer science, law, NJROTC, journalism, biomedical, engineering, and dance.  “We also reach out to trade schools and alumni so students can see different paths and hear from people they can relate to,” she added. 

“It’s great to network with students and educate them,” said Lakeisha Smith, a financial consultant who was a guest at the career fair. “It gives them an idea of how these careers can impact them and their future.” Smith also mentioned the importance of how the world is small, and you don’t know if a connection you make can impact you drastically in the future. 

Aisha Khan, who works as an editor for The New York Times, emphasized the importance of expanding our network and how your network can be corresponding with your net worth. 

Students mentioned how informative and insightful the career fair was, and how they learned much more about the different careers available to them. Gurshirat Kaur mentioned that she is now curious about the different professions she had learned about and is now filled with different intriguing paths related to her passion.

“I was planning to join the military straight after high school, but now I’m thinking about either joining the Air Force and becoming a pilot or working as an engineer in aerospace,” Kaur said. “They explained the steps clearly, like doing ROTC in college, and it really helped me understand my options.” 

In addition to learning about different careers, other students mentioned that they learned more about the pathways to success in various professions. “I learned more about the different routes I can take in the future,” said Azim Ali. “For example, in the Army, you can have more input in what you do, and there are even options like becoming a lawyer.”

Overall, students found the event to be worth attending. “The career fair definitely helped me,” said Farhabi Ononto. “It gave me more insight into what I might want to do and the steps to take to achieve my goals.”

“I hope that the career fair can help students navigate the process of choosing a career path,” Kaur said. “It can be really stressful, and the point is to provide support and information.”

With an extensive amount of networking, building connections, and gaining insightful knowledge about the different careers, this year’s career fair left an everlasting impact on students, staff, and the professionals themselves.