Tri-county career fair 'turned out wonderful'

Angela Guglielmino, Appeal-Democrat, Marysville, Calif.
Updated ·3 min read

Mar. 28—Junior and senior students from 18 invited schools in Yuba, Sutter and Colusa counties attended the first Tri-County ROP Career Fair on Thursday at the Yuba-Sutter Fairgrounds in Yuba City.

The Sutter County Superintendent of Schools held the career fair, which was accomplished through employment assistant groups — Tri-County Regional Occupational Program and Sutter County One Stop.

In the main exhibit hall, students explored booths and had the opportunity to connect with more than 80 employers, and training and education providers. There were also two smaller exhibit halls (Palmer and Flowerhouse) where students could attend different panels that featured seven separate career clusters.

One panel discussed hospitality, tourism and recreation careers. The three professionals on that panel — flight attendant Corrine Nelson, Pizza Factory Manager Amanda Woten and Yuba City Community Services Director Ann Gillen — discussed their personal experiences and fielded questions.

Students wanted to know, for example, about Nelson's most bizarre experiences as a flight attendant — fun fact: she has not had to use CPR on a plane yet — and how much she earns. Emilee Carpenter, a senior at Lindhurst High School, attended that panel and said that Nelson was transparent about her wage, which she thought was cool.

"I'm not saying money is everything, but I feel like money has a lot to do with everything," Carpenter said. "(The flight attendant) makes a lot of money. A lot more than $15 (per hour), and she said her job was fun. And she was like, I can work one day a week, or I can work seven days a week. So, her schedule is very flexible."

Kellee Ford, with Sutter County One Stop, was involved with getting vendors to attend the event.

"It did take some convincing, some explaining, because this is the first one that we've had," Ford said. "But honestly, it all turned out wonderful. We're just so pleased with the turnout and the commitment from everyone."

Public Information Officer Sierra Pedley and Corrections Officer Anthony Calderon helped represent the Sutter County Sheriff's Office at the event.

"Really, we are here to answer any questions and spark their interest," Pedley said. "When you are 16, how do you know what you want to do when you grow up?"

Recruitment is meaningful, as Pedley said that the sheriff's office is currently understaffed.

"Right now we are currently recruiting for dispatch, and then we are always recruiting for corrections," Pedley said. "Corrections right now, I think they're working with mandatory overtime, so we're trying to get as many people as possible. That way, people are allowed to take holidays."

Ernesto De Coza, a trucking coordinator, helped represent Morning Star Trucking Company at the event and said the company is trying to get more people into the trucking and harvesting industry.

Employees manage themselves at Morning Star Trucking, and authority is lateral. De Coza said he appreciates the freedom that his job provides.

"I like everything (about my job)," De Coza said.

Bob Eckardt, the director of Career Technical Education for Tri-County Regional Occupational Programs, helped organize the event and said it was significant.

"Literally everyone from three counties have come together to say, you know what, this is a worthwhile event," Eckardt said. "This is what's going to help our community, and we want in."