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NEWS | Feb. 28, 2017

Career fair unites JBLE, local community

By Staff Sgt. Teresa J. Cleveland 633rd Air Base Wing Public Affairs

As a way to strengthen the tie between the military and the local Hampton Roads community, U.S. Army Soldiers and U.S. Air Force Airmen from the 733rd and 633rd Security Forces Squadrons and the 221st and 3rd Military Police Detachments at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia, visited with students during a career fair at Crittenden Middle School in Newport News, Virginia., Feb. 22, 2017.


The service members from JBLE, along with other professionals in the local community, spoke with seventh-grade students regarding science, technology, engineering and mathematics principles and how they tie into their careers and education goals.


“What we like to show the students is that there are lots of similar career opportunities in the community and within the Armed Forces that revolve around STEM education,” said Felicia Barnett, Crittenden Middle School principle. “We want to be able to expose our students to those various careers and educational benefits.”


For the members of the Armed Forces who participated in the career fair, the objective was to strengthen the relationships between the installation and the local community. The service members also wanted to educate the students on the jobs they perform every day within their specific career fields and what educational opportunities are available to military members.


“As a good steward of the profession of arms, we get to go out into the community and strengthen those relationships and also teach, train and educate at our local schools so they know what the military is all about,” said U.S. Army Sgt. Maj. Joel Zecca, 733rd SFS sergeant major and installation provost sergeant major. “We talked to the students about the significance and the importance of the military and let them know why we’re here and why we do what we do.”

 

As the service members answered students’ questions about their deployments, education and daily work schedules, students were able to see firsthand what the military community consists of and gain understanding and information for possible future career paths.


“The biggest benefit for our school is that the military serves as role models for our students,” said Barnett. “I think that our students benefit from seeing men and women who serve our country, but who are also able to share their careers and make connections with students.”


Members of the Security Forces Squadrons will participate in career fairs and other educational opportunities at various schools in the local community throughout the year. They are continuously looking for volunteers in other career fields across the Armed Forces to encourage the next generation.