On Wednesday, Sept. 18, UNK hosted its annual Health Career Fair in the Nebraskan Student Union. High school and college students were able to interact with 40 different booths related to healthcare professions and colleges.
Sara Bruner, the Health Sciences Explorers coordinator at UNK, said the networking aspect of the fair is rewarding for students.
“It’s just a really great opportunity for the students, wherever they’re at in their journey, to talk with UNK, pre-professional programs or healthcare facilities about what they have to offer,” Bruner said.
Around 145 UNK students and over 300 high school students attended the event.
Different groups available for students to interact with included hospitals, nursing homes, graduate schools for college students and colleges that offer health care programs. The UNK Health Sciences Department also had a few tables for students interested in being a Loper.
There were breakout sessions related to public health, occupational therapy and communication disorders.
“The breakout sessions can be especially valuable from the standpoint that sometimes these are areas students don’t know much about,” Bruner said. “So even if it’s not something they want to pursue, there’s still a lot of value in just learning what professions are out there. The sessions could sway somebody specifically to a field that maybe they had never considered before.”
UNK freshman Avyana Pena said the fair helped her be sure of her current path.
“The fair gives me opportunities to look at other options and figure out if my major is the one for me,” Pena said. “I came so I can get more information about the pre-rad tech program, see what resources I can use, and know what to get involved in to get into my program.”
Christian Burton, a senior at Lexington High School, said the fair helped set him up for the future, and gave him information that he can apply at the current stage of his healthcare journey.
“The fair has given me more opportunities to see what else I can do in the healthcare industry,” Burton said. “As a current caregiver at a nursing home, seeing the occupational therapy side of things and how I can implement those strategies to help some of my current residents has been very beneficial.”
Maria Bennett from the University of Wyoming School of Pharmacy said the fair helps bring more awareness to their smaller program.
“It’s a really great opportunity for us to meet students from other states,” Bennett said. “I’m recruiting for the school of pharmacy, and we have a really small program. I think that speaks to rural states like Nebraska, and we’ve had really great success coming to the UNK fair and recruiting students to Wyoming, so we come every year.”
Julio Chavez from the Columbus Community Hospital said the fair is an opportunity to provide direction and local possibilities for students.
“We’ve been coming the last few years to the fair here at UNK and it helps us get our name out there and employ students who are looking for employment close to home,” Chavez said. “We’re here to help students out and guide them in the right direction.”
Vendors said UNK did a great job at making the fair an easy and inviting experience for everyone.
“I think UNK does a beautiful job at organizing this event,” Bennett said. “They are super welcoming to students and they’re amazing for vendors. They do such a good job with communication and letting everyone know what we’re doing and where we’re going.”
Photos by Jenna Heinz / Antelope Staff
