SCCC visits PVE for career fair

By Rachel Coleman on May 3, 2018 • ( 0 )

Members of Seward County Community College visited Prairie View Elementary School fourth- and fifth-grade classrooms for a College and Career Fair on Tuesday, May 1.

Prairie View students played a “Saints Jeopardy!” game, met Louie the Saint, and engaged in a bilingual Q&A session. They also quizzed music and science faculty and students about study options. SCCC instructors Myron Perry, Magda Silva, Darin Workman headed up sessions with help from SCCC staffers Rachel Coleman, Annette Hackbarth-Onson, Janeth Vazquez, Charles Butler, music students Alfredo Banuelos and Alize Hickey, and Louie the Saint in costume.

Perry represented the sciences with a discussion on microbiology as well as his background as a soccer player and athletic trainer. Hackbarth-Onson and Coleman led students in a game of Jeopardy, and distributed prizes. Workman, Silva, Banuelos and Hickey shared their experiences in the music fields and their college experiences. Vazquez talked about her journey, which started at SCCC, led her to broadcast journalism and then back to Liberal and SCCC.

While the students enjoyed all the presentations, the biggest cheers came for Louie the Mascot.

“We knew Louie would be a hit, although we didn’t expect controversy about his age,” said Coleman, SCCC Executive Director of Marketing and Public Relations. While Louie the Saint is one year old in terms of his time on the SCCC campus, she noted, “he’s 814 years old in terms of history. The students had a heated debate about which number was the right answer during our Jeopardy game. They were so competitive, and that made the game more fun.”

Hackbarth-Onson, SCCC Dean of Students, believed the career fair was well received by students and that it was important to get them exposure to choices in their future.

“The students were wonderful,” she said. “They were engaged and lively. They asked great questions. I think it’s great that they’re thinking about their future at this age or anytime. It’s important for them to think about college, a career or life.”