Teens scope summer gigs at youth job fair

Approximately 200 Columbia teenagers packed a Ramada Inn conference room Saturday, snacking on hot dogs and scouting information booths for summer activities.

“We’re doing this for you,” Mayor Darwin Hindman told participants. “We’re trying to make your summer better.”

The Mayor’s Youth Opportunities Fair was organized to give Columbia’s teens positive things to do with their summer, from jobs to volunteer opportunities. Girl Scouts for Volunteer Opportunities, Wonderland Camp, the Activity Recreation Center, and the Youth Mentoring Partnerships were among the groups involved.

The fair gave Jordan Fleming, 13, the idea to mow lawns this summer.

“I liked it,” Fleming said. “It’s good for kids to have opportunities to stay out of trouble.”

Participants were asked to fill out generic job applications.

“After they fill out their resume, we get a copy of all the applications so we can follow up and see if the kids got hired,” said Lorenzo Lawson, executive director of Boone County’s Youth Empowerment Program, which helped sponsor the job fair.

“For those that didn’t get hired, we then offer job readiness training with workshops like ‘Dress for Success’ and ‘How to Perform a Dynamic Interview’ to give them a chance for future success.”

Robin Kummerfeld, who attended with her teenage daughter, said the fair provided good opportunities for networking.

“They pointed us to a lot of people who could find us jobs, and it was very helpful,” Kummerfeld said.

The job fair, in its second year, was part of a larger “Let’s Change the Odds for Our Families Conference” held Friday and Saturday.

Participants listened to keynote speakers. Hickman teacher Jerome Sally, a former MU and NFL football player, spoke about the disparity in the achievement gap in Columbia schools and encouraged parents to remain involved with their children’s education.