Career symposium slated tomorrow

Area First Nations youths can find about which career path they might like to follow tomorrow when the Rainy Lake Ojibway Education Authority holds its “1999 Career Symposium” at the Nanicost gym.
More than 210 high school students from across the area, including Fort Frances, Rainy River, Lac La Croix, Atikokan, and Dryden, will be attending the symposium, which gets underway at 9:30 a.m.
“We have a lot to offer this year,” enthused Wayne Anderson, communications officer for the RLOEA. “It’s going to be bigger than last year.”
The symposium will be divided into three parts.
“First of all is the workshops, at which students can learn about journalism, photography, résumé writing, acting, career testing, and purely informational courses on health, business, and social services,” Anderson noted.
The second part features a speaker’s corner, during which various professionals will give brief talks about their jobs.
Third is the numerous booths set up, including by the MNR, armed forces, and social services, where students can ask questions.
Notable by their absence are post-secondary institutions–a point Anderson was quick to explain.
“It’s my belief that if you want to go to university, you can go get a course calendar from your guidance counsellor,” he remarked.
“The whole idea of this event is to spark an interest in students’ minds. To give them a chance to find something they may be interested in and ask an expert about it,” he added.
“There’s no point in going to university if you don’t know why you’re going there–not with the cost of tuition these days,” Anderson stressed.
Although the symposium will be restricted to invited students during the morning workshops, the gym will be open to the public from 1:30-5 p.m.
“Once we have our morning stuff done, the public, including all students, are definitely welcome to come and see what we have here,” said Anderson.