Students receive answers

Students as young as Grade 5 attended the E.W. Pratt High School Career Fair Oct. 7. Left-right are students Skyra Badger, Cynara Pichay, Tanaya Rudolf and Clay-Ce Badger. Debbie Stokes, right, of the Northern Alberta Development Council office in Peace River, attended to advise students of bursaries and scholarships. Badger is a Grade 5 student at St. Andrew’s while the other three attend Grade 7 at Prairie River Junior High School.

Chris Clegg
South Peace News

Parents and students who grabbed the bull by the horns and attended the E.W. Pratt High School Career Fair Oct. 7 received a wealth of information from about 30 college and university institutions attending. Pratt’s counsellor Francis Lessard says attendance could have been higher at this year 13th annual fair but praises everyone who made the effort to attend and get valuable information. Debbie Stokes, an employee at the Northern Alberta Development Council office in Peace River, attended to advise students of bursaries and scholarships. She was kept busy throughout the event answering questions from students. “Eighty per cent of our bursary recipients stay in the north,” says Stokes, adding there are many bursaries to apply for. Lessard says people attending the fair got their money’s worth. “Career fairs give the students an opportunity to talk with the colleges,” he says. University of Alberta aboriginal recruitment officer Tanisha Moore says there is plenty of room for students to enter university. She adds she answered a variety of questions. “Everything from admission to studying abroad if you come to the U of A,” she says. “Career options, marks requirements and sporting requirements, too.” Parents, she adds, usually ask about costs. Moore and many other college and university reps are currently on a tour that began at the end of September and continues to mid-December. Career fairs were also held in Slave Lake Oct. 6 and Donnelly Oct. 9. Lessard says now is the time for students to seriously consider their future if they plan on attending college. “Students are thinking they’d better find out for sure what they need for marks and courses. They’re listening for the answers. “When you’re in Grade 10 you really have to start thinking about this, then in Grade 11 you really have to narrow down your options, and finally in Grade 12 it is time to start applying.”

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