From Potential to Profession: Teacher Career Fair Empowers Future Educators 

The Office of Student Career Preparedness hosted a teacher career fair on November 19, open to all students at East Texas A&M University who are pursuing a career in education. Over 20 school districts, Project Transformation North Texas, Uplift Education, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Texas, and the East Texas A&M Graduate School convened at the Rayburn Student Center.

Many school districts seek new teaching talent to present updated material and bring fresh perspectives into classrooms. Several school employees in attendance said that they were seeking passionate, motivated, trainable and creative individuals to be educators.

The participants shared positive feedback about the career fair. Nearly all respondents agreed that the experience was valuable, and many students felt more confident about pursuing their chosen career paths afterward.

Glory Odle, an arts education major, said, “East Texas A&M has opened my eyes to the potential I do have and the value that I hold for any district just with the classes I have taken in art education…”

Arthur Lumzy, the executive director of Student Career Preparedness, reported that there were 56 attendees, including first-year students, seniors, graduate students and alums. He said the most common majors in attendance were education, agricultural science and technology, early childhood education, kinesiology and sports studies, and mathematics.

Participants were able to take forward steps, such as applying and visiting with representatives from schools they were interested in.

Student Career Preparedness helps students by providing job options and establishing a solid foundation for students to build upon. This career fair offered future educators the opportunity to explore potential teaching careers across a range of schools and gain valuable skills in career and self-development, communication, professionalism, and leadership.