College & Career Fair

FLAGSTAFF — The Coconino County Hispanic Advisory Council (CHAC) will present its second annual College & Career Resource Fair from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 1 at Killip Elementary School, 2300 E. 6th Ave., Flagstaff.

The fair, open to parents, high school students and interested community members, will offer information to help area youth prepare for employment, internships, job shadowing and high-school-to-college transition and find financial aid as they prepare for higher education and the next steps needed for their future.

Nearly 20 community organizations staffed resource tables in the school’s gymnasium at the 2015 event, and provided speakers at informational workshops.

Presenting organizations confirmed this year include Coconino Community College’s “Coconino Save2Learn” program, CCC’s Student Services, Coconino County Human Resources, Jobs Corps in Flagstaff, Northern Arizona University’s Undergraduate Admissions and Orientations, NAU-CCC Educational Opportunity Centers and Northern Arizona College Resource Center.

Career and educational organizations are invited to apply to staff resource tables and speak to students and parents about their college and career options. Contact Theresa Thomas at tthomas@coconino.az.gov or call (928) 679-7162 for more information.

The three workshops scheduled for 2016 are “Preparing for careers — Internships, job shadowing”; “Learning the basics of financial aid, scholarships — deadlines, available scholarships,” and “Making the transition from high school to college — How to help first-generation college students develop skills they need to succeed.”

Spanish-language translators will be available to help attendees.

“Our vision is to inform youth, their families and other community members who may show some interest in attending college either full-time or part-time sometime in the future. We would like to target young persons and their parents who may not know where to find college information. In some instances the parent’s language is a barrier,” stated Ruth Eaton, M.Ed, a member of CHAC.

“We have students finishing high school online or at charter schools or adult education centers or some who have delayed college for many other reasons,” Eaton said. “Some students want to further their education to increase their job skills, or work on a specialized certificate. Whatever goal they have, we want to give them the opportunity to learn more about how they can find these resources.”

CHAC members include Ruth Eaton, Patricia Garcia, Miguel Vasquez; Frank X. Moraga as chair and Theresa Thomas, executive assistant to Supervisor Elizabeth “Liz” Archuleta. Thomas serves as the liaison to the organization.