Locke Jumpstarts Student Trajectories at Annual Career Day and Fair

A pilot, a doctor, and a secret serviceman were all in the same building. This isn’t a setup for a punchline. This is just a few of the many professions students at Alain LeRoy Locke College Preparatory Academy learned about during the school’s annual Career Day and Fair, which  took place on November 4, 2022. 

Nearly 80 professionals presented their unique career experiences, held Q&A sessions, provided post-high-school guidance, and hosted work demonstration sessions for more than 1,000 students at Locke. 

In the days leading up to the career day, Green Dot Public Schools California’s Counseling and Persistence team and Locke counselors administered the California College Guidance Initiative career interest profiler to students to determine student career interests. The event resulted in a variety of career and trade sessions, including presentations by a medical doctor, electrician, software developer, law enforcement official, disk jockeys, and many others. 

This career day was made possible by the Locke and Green Dot California community. Rachel Martinez,  the region College and Career Specialist, helped organize the school-wide event. “A lot of  the teachers and staff helped us with reaching out to their networks to be able to pull in different professionals that our students really want to hear from,” she said. “We even had some speakers that were not from traditional careers students may not have thought about-including a pilot.” 

Students have also found the career fair helpful to their overall experience at Locke. Twelfth grade Locke student Diane Ruiz engaged with firefighters and their equipment at the career fair to experience what it would be like to serve her community. She expressed gratitude for her school’s support in helping her pursue her passions. “My counselors and college-readiness teachers have helped me find more information that is getting me where I need to be. There are so many opportunities here, and whenever you need help, there’s always someone willing to offer you that help,” she added..

Nasia Turner, Black Excellence Specialist at Locke, believes this event expanded the horizon of possibility for every student in attendance. “I hope that students see that there are multiple pathways to success and I hope that they learn something new about a field that they were either unaware of before, or further confirm their calling in a field,” she added.

Locke and the Green Dot California Counseling and Persistence team are looking forward to continuing its tradition of an annual career fair next year. 

At Green Dot California we prioritize each and every opportunity to expose all students to a variety of careers. Through programs like Locke’s annual Career Day and Fair, students can power their dreams so that they can all reach their full potential in college, leadership, and life.