The JA Inspire Live Career Exploration Event planning committee is pictured from left to right (seated): Rachel Wiernusz, Community Bank; Susan Magnotta, President of Junior Achievement NEPA; and Ruth Corcoran, Event Chair for JA Inspire Live. From left to right (standing): Kevin Harger-Bilzzard, Berkshire Hathaway Guard; Jane Ashton, Penn State Wilkes-Barre; Elizabeth Hughes, Earth Conservancy; Zubeen Saeed, Building Blocks Learning Center; Lake Ryan Gemzik, Building Blocks Learning Center; Elyse Wilson, SRM, Inc.; Beth Distasio, Distasio, Kowalski & Yelen LLC; Christine Melusky, King’s College; and Kerry Miscavage, Times Leader Media Group Publisher.
Event will connect area students with local industry professionals
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WILKES-BARRE — Junior Achievement of NEPA will host its first local “Inspire Live” event on April 18 at Mohegan Sun Pocono Convention Center, bringing high school students together with local businesses to explore future career options.
Approximately 2,000 high school juniors and seniors from across 13 school districts are expected to take part. They will attend the event in the morning, with the latter half of the day reserved for college, home-schooled and cyber school students.
Inspire Live will give students the chance to connect with local industry professionals and identify jobs and internships best suited to their skills and interests. Whether students wish to pursue a degree or head right into the workforce there will be a number of options available to them, including the possibility of being hired on the spot.
Introducing students to careers
DiscoverNEPA Powered by Mericle serves as Presenting Sponsor for JA Inspire Live.
“One of the goals of the event is to expose students to local careers that they may not know exist,” according to comments provided by the Mericle organization.
JA Inspire Live will feature interactive booths from over 60 local businesses, representing 10 different career clusters.
Some highlights include several hands-on demos to be performed at the booths of Nataupsky Family Dentistry; Metz Culinary Management and LCCC Culinary; Geisinger; and the Plains Township Fire, Ambulance and Police Department.
Eyewitness News WBRE/WYOU will give students the chance to see green screen technology in action with a demonstration from one of the studio’s meteorologists.
Virtual reality also will event an immersive experience, with several businesses utilizing the technology.
UGI will have a virtual reality underground line locating exercise to locate gas, electric, water, sewer and communication lines and The Iron Workers Local 404 will have virtual reality welding technology available. A virtual reality healthcare showcase will also take place, courtesy of Allied.
Jacobi Capital Management will have an Entrepreneurship Room, featuring rotating speakers through out the day.
In addition, Choice One Credit Union will be taking LinkedIn headshots for students and helping them set up LinkedIn profiles.
M&T Bank will give students the chance to play a game of Financial Family Feud, while Community Bank will have a fitness room set up.
‘Great way to network’
Among the attendees will be between 300 and 400 Hazleton Area seniors, district Superintendent Brian Uplinger said.
Both Uplinger and Assistant Superintendent Patrick Patte agreed that JA Inspire Live will be a great way for students to “network” and get “hands-on” experience with different jobs available in the area.
Though the school limited the event to seniors this year, Uplinger said he “looks forward to growing it more in the future.”
Representatives from local colleges and universities will be in attendance as well. Lackawanna College Center for Technology Innovation, for example, will have two robotic dogs at its booth. Johnson College’s booth with feature two robotic arms and a 3D printed HVAC unit, while LCCC will have a HR readiness room set up.
For students in grades 7-12, who cannot attend the event, the Inspire Virtual program is available online from now until June.
For more information regarding Junior Achievement and the Inspire Live event, visit nepa.ja.org or contact Brandy Lewis, program director, at 570-602-3600.