Soper holds GEAR UP Career Fair

Professionals from law, insurance and medicine visited Soper High School Friday, November 10, to give students a valuable lesson on life in the real world for Soper’s 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. Soper High School teachers Scott Van Worth and Paula Arpealer planned the event.

Lawyer Bobby Rabon, Aflac Insurance Representative and Photographer Jim Swink, Dental Hygienist Linda Rich and Physical Therapist Kate Henderson spoke to students about their respective fields. Teachers also talked to students in their classrooms about career exploration and preparation, and GEAR UP Partnership Coordinator Jennifer Ince talked to students about college preparation.

Sue Haggerty, Soper GEAR UP Site Coordinator and High School Counselor, said students found the day very helpful and informative.

“We wanted to make students aware of all the opportunities available to them in this area, and everyone I’ve talked with seemed to think that was accomplished,” Haggerty 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.