Silo holds GEAR UP Career Fair

Silo middle and high school students considered life after high school Thursday as 49 career speakers visited the school for their annual career fair.

The fair was sponsored by the Southeastern Oklahoma State University Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) Partnership as part of a career mini-grant program for the month of November, which is National Career Month.

Silo Counselor Paulla Slawson coordinated the event, with the help of Silo’s Student Leadership Team.

Students heard from professionals in law enforcement, insurance, medicine, the military, photography, accounting, real estate, journalism, surveying, wildlife, business, and even biochemistry and film.

The focus of the career fair was on local jobs, so that students can see the variety of fields available in southeastern Oklahoma, Slawson said. Fifteen of the speakers were parents of Silo students, and eight were Silo alumna, making the careers presented even more attainable for students, she said.

“Students often don’t understand the “real-world” value of their classes, but these professionals prove to them that education is important for achieving career goals, and career goals are important for education,” Slawson said.

The SOSU GEAR UP Partnership is a federally grant funded program that serves 1,852 eleventh- and twelfth-graders in 14 schools in Bryan, Choctaw and McCurtain counties. The schools are: Achille, Bennington, Boswell, Broken Bow, Caddo, Calera, Colbert, Durant, Fort Towson, Hugo, Rock Creek, Silo, Soper and Valliant.

For more information on GEAR UP, call (580) 745-3122 or visit www.se.edu/gearup.