A day off from classes? Check. A live band? Check. Hearing from an entrepreneur who began his own business? Check. Learning about careers students are individually interested in? Check.
All these things and more will be available to both high school and college students. Career day takes place Nov. 12, and no classes will be held that day except night classes and labs.
There are many different reasons why career day could be and may not be beneficial for Dixie State University students.
Joshua Sine, director of new student programs, said career day is focused on high school students more than college students.
“Career day has been turned into a recruitment event,” said Sine, who is the coordinator of career day. “We are trying to engage (high school) students with the campus and the benefits of attending Dixie State University.”
Brett Schwartz, an enrollment mentor in the new student programs office, said he thinks career day could be beneficial for college students.
“Many of our students are undecided with their degrees,” Schwartz said. “They don’t know what they want to do, (and) they don’t know what their career is. So, any information that they can get about the degrees and the careers that are out there is definitely a benefit to them.”
Senior Development Officer Rick Palmer said he could see career day developing into a college event. He said it would have to be done by each individual school, such as the Udvar-Hazy School of Business, at DSU through the career center.
The event will begin at 9:15 a.m. at the Cox Auditorium with Scott Warner as the keynote speaker. Warner is the CEO and founder of gigg.com, a website geared toward musicians and fans.
According to the website, Gigg provides users a way to express, promote and discover music in all forms. Gigg is focused on discovering the greatest musicians in the world while allowing fans to participate in the discovery process.
“(Warner) embodies a lot of what aspiring professionals should be,” Sine said. “He branched out on his own.”
Warner is also bringing one of his up-and-coming bands to perform live.
“During the (keynote speaker), one of (Warner’s) discoveries is going to do a quick performance,” Schwartz said. “Not only are (students) going to be informed, but they will also be entertained. It’s worth it for college and high school students to attend.”
After the keynote speaker, students will choose three available career fields and break up into breakout sessions throughout campus to learn more about those careers, such as law, medicine and education.
“Students learn some really beneficial things from people that are actually in that field that they want to do,” said Teresa Peterson, guidance counselor at Pine View High School. “If (students) get in there and something sparks their interest that they never even thought would, [then] I think that would be the most beneficial part.”
During the three breakout sessions, there will be a career fair in the Gardner Center to finish the day.
“(The career fair) is open to the public and students,” Schwartz said. “We are going to have several different vendors, businesses, (college) departments (and) the military, so people can walk by and gather information and ask questions.”
For more information and the schedule of events, visit the website at www.dixie.edu/advisement/career_day.php.
