The Wagner Community Memorial Hospital-Avera sponsored a 12th annual 8th Grade Career Fair on Thursday, January 19, 2023 at the Wagner National Guard Armory. Partnering with the South Dakota Department of Health, the event also included “Camp Med Lanes”, which featured several different healthcare career choices. The event was coordinated by hospital employee, Connie Kaufman, BSN.

Eighth graders must select career paths for high school registration; thus, the goal of the career fair is to expose students to the wide variety of educational opportunities and career paths available to them. The emphasis was hands-on activities which were directly related to the promoted careers. A variety of career choices were present, including exhibitors from local and regional businesses as well as South Dakota colleges. Students were able to walk through an innovative, inflatable brain; learn coping skills and 988 resource, while constructing a calming jar; speed challenge for adding bank deposits; view a counterfeit $100.00 bill; watch a demonstration of a rollover simulator; take a photo with a professional digital camera; demonstration of equipment used by a lineman; how to maneuver a robot; stepping inside an ambulance, as well as watching a mechanical chest compression device; use a demo fire extinguisher to put out a simulated fire; have a body composition done; practice CPR skills and demonstrate removing skin staples and stitches in addition to many other hand-on opportunities.

Approximately 540 students participated from 24 area schools. The schools that attended were: Andes Central, Armour, Avon, Bon Homme, Burke, Corsica-Stickney, Crow Creek; Dakota Christian, Ethan, Freeman, Gayville-Volin, Gregory, Hanson, Irene-Wakonda, Marty Indian School, Menno, Mount Vernon, Netherland Reformed Christian, Plankinton, Platte-Geddes, Scotland, Tripp-Delmont, Wagner and Winner.

Exhibitors included: Army National Guard-Wagner Unit; Avera Workforce Planning; C&B Operations-Wagner; Charles Mix Electric; Commercial State Bank; Dakota Wesleyan University Nursing; Dakota State University; Mount Marty University-College of Nursing; National Resources Conservation Service; Peasants Forever; Photography by Denelle; SD Department of Health/Charles Mix Community Health; SD Department of Labor; SD Division of Behavioral Health & Lewis and Clark Behavioral Health Services; Sioux Falls Fire & Rescue; SDSU Extension 4-H Advisor and Health Educator; SD Game Fish & Parks; SD Geological Survey; SD Highway Patrol; South Dakota State University- College of Pharmacy; Southeast Technical Institute; United States Secret Service/Homeland Security; University of South Dakota-College of Physical Therapy; Wagner Indian Health Service; Wagner-Lake Andes Ambulance; West River Area Health Education Center; West River Health Science Center and Wagner Community Memorial Hospital-Avera.

Thank you to the City of Wagner for the use of the Armory and for assistance in preparation/clean up; Fort Randall Telephone for providing wifi; Photography by Denelle for taking class photos; Subway for assisting with the vendor meals and Buche Foods for donating water for the exhibitors and students. An exhibitor meal was sponsored by Wagner Community Memorial Hospital-Avera. We would like to extend a special thanks to the exhibitors for the interesting, interactive displays and to the schools for bringing the students. Thank you to both the exhibitors and schools for the abundance of support to make the career fair a success!

Any business, agency or educational entity that would like to be included next year as a career fair exhibitor should contact Connie Kaufman at the Wagner Community Memorial Hospital-Avera at 384-3611.