Meridian Student Job Fair Expands Student Horizons

With the approach of spring, secondary students begin to dwell over the possibilities of summer break. Many, however, must also find summer employment to earn their keep and gain valuable work experience.

While most high schools don’t provide a forum for students to meet with eager employers, the City of Falls Church’s Meridian High School has dedicated itself, since last year, to helping students explore work options with an in-school Student Job Fair. On March 12, this year’s fair – lasting through all three student lunch breaks – showcased over a dozen local businesses inside the school’s spacious main entrance, the walls adorned with inspiring quotations for students to think about their futures. 

Representatives from each enterprise deployed creative table displays, informational handouts, free bling, and alluring conversational pitches to woo pupils their way. Students, ranging from ages 14 to 18, appeared to respond positively, taking time from their lunch blocks to chat freely with representatives while checking out the wide variety of offerings.

The Falls Church Independent attended the Student Job Fair to find out how the annual event helps fulfill Meridian’s educational mission, what sorts of businesses were pitching their opportunities to students, and how the students themselves viewed the occasion.

As an International Baccalaureate (IB) high school, Meridian is committed to “teaching the whole child” by focusing on “holistic development, balancing rigorous academic learning with emotional, social, physical, and cultural well-being,” while “nurtur[ing] well-rounded individuals – not just test-takers – using inquiry-based pedagogy, fostering curiosity, and developing key skills to prepare students as lifelong learners and globally minded citizens.” 

Encouraging students to think and plan their future careers and how they might interact vocationally with the world is, therefore, part and parcel of the IB programme’s mission.

The employers who set up tables at the fair were: 

• Area 2 Farms
• City of Falls Church Recreation & Parks Department
• Dude’s Dog House & Spa
• The Falls Church News-Press
• FCCPS Summer Day Care Program
• Fifty/50 Martial Arts Academy
• High Sierra Pools
• JP Morgan Chase Bank
• KiPS Family Gymnastics
• Mary Riley Styles Public Library
• Murphy Funeral Home
• Stretch Lab
• The Kensington Falls Church
• The Learning Quest
• Tuckahoe Recreation Club

“I think it’s a great opportunity,” said Meridian Principal Peter Laub. “We’ve got a lot of eligible members of the workforce here in the high school. So I’m happy we can connect them for meaningful employment in our community…. We love partnering with the local businesses and I hope the students find this meaningful and impactful as well.”

Laub emphasized how the Job Fair is designed to give students agency. “This is all up to them,” he said. “All we’re doing is providing the hallways for the businesses.”

Origins of the Job Fair

But Laub is sure to credit the school’s main Job Fair organizers as he describes how the event came to be. “In the past, we’d get requests all the time from all the local businesses or community organizations who’d ask, ‘Hey, can we put a flyer up?’ or say, ‘We’re hiring.’ And [College and Career Advisor] Ms. [Sheri] Mural came up with the idea a couple of years ago, saying, ‘Let’s just consolidate this. Let’s invite them in. Plus, visuals help for kids trying to get jobs. So that’s the idea…. And, Regan Davis who works in our Community Outreach Office does a great job of hitting the pavement and getting the businesses to come here, and after that, we let the businesses and the kids take over.”

First Job at Age 14

Asked if his own high school ever provided a Student Job Fair when he was a student, Laub said “No.” So we asked if he wished they had. “Sure,” he said with a grin. “I mean, I had my mom kick me out of the house and say, ‘Go knock on some doors until they hire you!’” Then, at age 14, Laub started delivering The Falls Church News-Press to homes in the neighborhood. “And it was a good intro to getting into a job and it got me out of the house and I got some money in my pocket,” he said.

Helping Students with College and Career Counseling

“We feel this is a strong opportunity for our students to connect with local businesses,” College and Career Counselor Sheri Mural told us. “Student feedback has been positive. They’ve said the Job Fair has been helping them in terms of funding those next steps beyond Meridian. It can be a great partnership for our students to connect with the opportunities in the City.” 

The Job Fair, however, is not just for seniors looking to graduate soon. It provides employment and volunteer opportunities to students ages 14 and above. 

We asked Ms. Mural if she had had a Student Job Fair when she was in high school. “I did not have anything of this sort,” she said. “And I think I would have benefited from it, to expand my horizons from the fast food restaurant that just happened to be next to my high school as the place where people worked, and to know there are many other opportunities for places to gain skills and earn money…”

“This is so cool!,” a student tells Ms. Mural as he examines the Teddy Bear Clinic table sponsored by The Learning Quest nearby. 

As both the college and the career counselor at Meridian, Ms. Mural draws from her past experiences in college admissions to advise students to explore deeply the many varied career paths before them. “So, the career aspect of college planning is important for students as they’re selecting their ‘intended major’ on their college applications,” she said. “And, how do different colleges look at the ‘intended major’ in the application review process? That varies widely. So we can dive into some pretty specific details that are college-specific.”

Helping Students Craft Their Resumes

In homerooms, students are also provided career-interest surveys to reveal their current career orientations. Using Naviance, Meridian’s “personalized pathway planning” app for students, pupils can also begin to develop their resumes thoughtfully, starting in the 9th grade.

“Within Naviance, students can watch over 500 videos that are interviews with different professionals, of five minutes or less, about different career opportunities. So they can think about, ‘Well, I want to work in the sports industry. But, I’m not the athlete.’ But, there are many aspects to the sports industry. There’s the business aspect. There’s the healthcare part of it. There are many ways they can explore what they’re excited about, from different professional lenses.”

The Importance of the Pivot

And, Ms. Mural emphasizes the importance of keeping an open mind to exploring different career pathways down the line. She uses her own career as a case study. Often she asks students to guess her major in college. They usually don’t guess she was a science major. “I was pretty set on being a Biology major in college and that’s what my undergraduate degree is in,” she said. “I actually wanted to be a college professor and I started a PhD program in Human Genetic Research and did that for a year and then decided that I liked the students aspect of higher education but didn’t want to do the 'publish-or-perish' research component. So, I pivoted and ended up earning a master’s degree in Higher Education Administration. And have been working with students ever since.”

“Sitting in my office as I’m talking about different colleges, students would never guess I used to do bench-top research. That really doesn’t fit the scene of my office,” Mural continued. “So I use myself many times as the example that it’s okay to pivot as you learn about yourself. It’s a journey and they don’t have to lock themselves in today to what they want to be doing 20 years down the road.”

Student Perspectives

We asked sophomore Christopher Turley his thoughts on the Job Fair as he and two friends were looking at tables. “I think it’s pretty cool as a way for people to get jobs if they’re keen on looking for them,” he said. “I’m looking at the assisted living one [Kensington Falls Church] because I do scouts and during Veterans Day we went there and volunteered to help.” 

Sophomore Jack Rasmussen hadn’t yet explored the tables, but he said he would first visit the Dude’s Dog House & Spa representatives. “I like dogs, and I like that table because they have the 16+ sign on it and I’m 16," he said to laughs. Kenton Scheifele (10th) was also pleased with the school providing a Student Job Fair. “I think it’s nice and I think preparing for the future is a good idea.” 

Four Meridian sophomore girls were also strolling through the Job Fair together, enthusiastically discussing the different job opportunities available. We asked Clara Pelegrina what motivated her to check out the event. “My motivation is, honestly, that I want to work to get a car for the new year and I also want to do something with my time other than sports and school work,” she said. “I’m looking for a summer job as well as for a job in general. I’m pretty flexible right now.”

We asked Pelegrina which tables she had visited so far. “I’ve gone to this one, Fifty/50 martial arts. I’ve gone to the Kensington Falls Church, the kids’ daycare, and the lifeguard training one. And those were pretty interesting, yeah.” 

But the Kensington Falls Church appealed to Pelegrina particularly because of her interest in helping the elderly in assisted living. “I looked at the Kensington which I’m interested in because my grandparents are looking for housing opportunities and so that’s what my family’s been looking into. So I think that kind of will provide an opportunity to look at that a little bit because it’ll be really helpful for my family. And it will provide that opportunity for me to broaden my horizons and my work opportunities.”

“It’s really fulfilling and I just like seeing how happy it makes people because oftentimes, elderly people, they don’t get a lot of attention. Everyone’s focused on the kids and everything. But I want to make sure that even people who are older have a great opportunity to be happy and feel fulfilled.”

Ingrid Slette also visited multiple tables. “I’ve gone to the Kensington families, and Fifty/50, and the kids’ family gymnastics and I just really enjoy working with kids,” she said. “So, I’d love to be able to do that in my free time. And then also to earn extra income.” But the Kids’ daycare table looked the most interesting to Slette. “Yeah, that one I think appealed to me the most. In the past I’ve done a lot of volunteer work relating with children, so it’s something I enjoy doing.”

Sara Hadley said she was most interested in pursuing her certificate as a lifeguard. “I was looking at the High Sierra lifeguarding opportunity,” she told us. “I am halfway certified as a lifeguard and I’ve been waiting for a job I could do at 15 years old…. So I’m really glad I found that. I’m really excited to be making money but also to be working with kids and doing something with my summer that’s not just like going to the beach and like hanging out with my family – so, I can actually prioritize.”

For Anastacia Gjorgjievski, the possibility of working with kids in the FCCPS Summer Day Care Program sparked her interest. “I babysit a lot for my neighbor’s kids and I’ve always enjoyed working with little kids,” she said. But she was also intrigued by the possibility of working the front desk at Fifty/50 Martial Arts. “My older brother kickboxes, so I’m around that place a lot.” She also took martial arts lessons there in 6th grade. 

Asked if she were interested in taking lessons again to “defend against her big brother,” Gjorgjievski laughed and said, “No, I like that because the hours are flexible later at night and all my friends are going to be gone during the summer month I’m here, so I need something to do with my time. And I’ll be doing sports as well. So I want something later in the evening where I can still meet my responsibilities while working.”

The Students Have 'All Been Fantastic'

Valerie Peacock of Fifty/50 Martial Arts Academy was impressed with the Meridian students she had encountered thus far. “They’ve all been fantastic,” she said. “They ask really great questions and they’ve actually looked at what the job application is. It seems like they’re planning for the future. Some kids are asking, ‘Are you hiring for the summer?’ And then, ‘What does the schedule look like for the fall?’ So, we know we hire high school students for our front desk and a lot of them do competitive sports or clubs and things, so we’re letting them know that, ‘Yes, we do adjust your schedule for competitive sports, or clubs, or for your extra-curricular activities. And, we also make sure you’re not working so much that you can’t do your studying.’ “

About the Job Fair in general, Sara Hadley (10th) said, “I think it’s a really great opportunity for students to see where they can work during the summer in order to make a little money for themselves because I think it’s important that children learn responsibility before they become adults, and how to manage their time and money.” 

Funkiest Table of the Day

We asked Community Outreach Coordinator Regan Davis which of all the wide variety of businesses in the Job Fair seemed to be the most surprising in their pitch to students. “I would say the most unusual table is the Dignity Memorial [Murphy Funeral Home]. They have had a consistent group of students here. I haven’t eavesdropped on their conversations necessarily, but their hearse is parked outside. And I’d say that’s probably the most unusual group we’ve had.” 

Five students were clustered around the Murphy Funeral Home representatives – who were all dressed in black – and describing the funeral business as well as mortuary sciences. “The interest in that group has been there since they started today,” Davis said. “And I think it has the potential to be very eye-opening for students, and that there’s a tremendous amount of science behind what they do. And they can apply what they’re learning in their classes and think about, ‘How does this transition to a career path?’ – although that might not be an intuitive career path for students.”

By Christopher Jones