Oakland Tech students meet with prospective employers at career expo

When you’re in high school, it can be difficult to envision what you’ll be doing in 10 years, five years or even one year after you graduate. But Oakland Tech parents and teachers wanted to emphasize how important it is for students to start thinking about their futures. This week the school hosted its 10th annual career expo.

On Wednesday afternoon, high schoolers crowded into a room full of prospective employers and company representatives who were ready to answer questions about summer internships, employment after high school, and what it takes to plan for and acquire jobs like theirs.

Lead expo organizer John Bliss, an active Oakland Tech PTSA member, said the event featured more than 2o presenters from a variety of public agencies, nonprofits and private companies including Pixar, the Oakland Fire Department and the National Holistic Institute, a massage therapy school.

Meghan Colgan, program director at Biotech Partners, was busy recruiting sophomores for the nonprofit’s Biotech Academy, a hands-on lab course offered at Oakland Tech that teaches students biotech concepts, laboratory work and professional development–which can lead to a paid summer internship. “Science is a really exciting field–there are lots of job opportunities,” Colgan said. “We always tell our students you don’t have to go into science, but the skills they’ve learned at Biotech Academy will enable them to go into any field and be successful.”

Students rounded the room, chatting with nail technicians, firefighters, police officers and engineers. “I think everyone should have a chance to have one,” said 12th grader Randall Jackson of the expo. “At least experience what it’s like and ask really good questions.”