Preparing a College Event for Career Technical Education With Executive Director Kathy Johnson “Vital Link” Elizabeth Weiss Irvine Valley College Acting Project Director/ Counselor Career Technical Education

Planning a college career event can be very beneficial in introducing high school students to the world of work. Keep in mind that it is very important to invite employers to the event to give students a chance to meet new people, learn about careers they may never have considered before, and to help them start thinking about a career path for their future. Students can get the most out of a college career event if you organize it to help students understand how careers and employers relate to each other. It is also important to use the event to teach students about Career and Technical Education and guide them to enroll in courses that will help them meet their career goals. Preparing a College Event for Career Technical Education

Planning a college event is not a simple task, but the benefits make all the efforts worthwhile. It can usually take 3-6 months to adequately prepare and organize a successful event, therefore it is very important to develop a timeline to help keep your event and yourself on track. Helpful hints… Preparing a College Event for Career Technical Education

I attended two very successful events, Digital Media Arts event prepared by Kathy Johnson from Vital Link. This event was held on November 19 th in Garden Grove for high school students in the area. Also I went to the Career Launch at Fullerton College for a CTE seminar on October 22nd. Here are a few helpful hints of what I learned from Kathy Johnson to ease the process… Preparing a College Event for Career Technical Education

Scheduling & Planning Timeline –Choose the date of your event months in advance (Preferably 3-6 months) –Coordinate your schedule around other activities that colleges and high schools have on their calendar. –Determine the number of speakers you would like to invite to the event and the space availability. Preparing a College Event for Career Technical Education

–Determine your time frame of the day. Keep movement to a minimum between sessions by grouping speakers accordingly and having a group of students rotate within the hour. Remember to keep in mind of each room capacity. –Decide if you will let students select their session of interest or whether you will assign them to a sessions Preparing a College Event for Career Technical Education

Once you have a date, have reserved a location and ed and or mailed the invitations, what’s next? Preparing a College Event for Career Technical Education

Budget –Typical expenses can include rental of transportation (i.e busses), table rental, food and drinks For this reason, check with your local restaurants and businesses to see if a donation can be made to support your event. Determine how much food and drinks you will need once you have a count of the number of students attending the event. –Don’t forget to include the speakers and staff members as well as the volunteers. Planning a college event can become very expensive. Preparing a College Event for Career Technical Education

Need Help? Who do you ask? Preparing a College Event for Career Technical Education

Find help Student volunteers are great resources. They can help during the planning stages as well as on the day of the college event. For example, they can help with parking and help direct people where they need to go. Announce the event Announce the event at the next staff meeting. Either form a committee to help with the event or ask staff members to recommend guest speakers. Preparing a College Event for Career Technical Education

Determine the space availability This will also determine how many students you can hold in each room/auditorium and the amount of equipment you need to reserve for your event.

Finalize and confirm the list of guest speakers. –Be sure to have a back up speaker just in case of cancellations or no shows Ask if they have any special equipment needs. Prepare a list of suggested questions to ask the guest speakers just in case students seem to run out of questions to ask. Finalize the list of students that will in attendance. Preparing a College Event for Career Technical Education Finalizing steps…

Create an evaluation form to be filled out right before each student receives their lunch. –This can take the place of their lunch ticket so that you can collect all the evaluations back from the students. Finalize the rotation schedule of presentations and groups of students. Preparing a College Event for Career Technical Education

Send out reminders as the event gets closer. Advertise if possible, as the success of your college event will depend on it. Preparing a College Event for Career Technical Education Designate a “Check-in room or location This way you can easily direct students where they need to go. One Month before the event

Send out information to speakers & teachers: –Driving directions-if applicable –Instructions for check-in process –Schedule for the day –Confirmation of equipment needs Preparing a College Event for Career Technical Education

On the day of the event, make sure you are organized. Make sure you have multiple lists of the attending schools. –You will sometimes have a few students show up unannounced or no shows. Have a central information station set up where people can ask questions? Preparing a College Event for Career Technical Education The Day of the Event

Make sure the equipment requested by guest speakers is in it’s location and working. Confirm the food and drink order with the caterer, and confirm the delivery time and location to drop it off. Preparing a College Event for Career Technical Education The Day of the Event

Volunteer duties –Escort guests speakers to assigned classroom and students as they arrive. –Be available for any special needs, such as water for guest speakers or equipment set-up –Be at the Check-in table to check off students as they arrive. Preparing a College Event for Career Technical Education The Day of the Event

Distribute any important material along with the agenda to every teacher to give to their students upon arrival. Assist guest speaker with set-up. Assist in directing each group of students to their location. Keep track of time –This way each presenter doesn’t exceed their time limit which will help the event run smoothly and on time. Collect evaluation forms before lunch. Help distribute drinks and lunch to speakers, students and other staff members. Preparing a College Event for Career Technical Education Volunteer responsibilities continue…

Be easily available the day of the event. If it’s in your budget, supply refreshments or a snacks during the event. Do a walk through around every classroom to see how things are going. Most importantly, have fun and you event will be successful! Preparing a College Event for Career Technical Education Simple last steps to follow…

Preparing a College Event for Career Technical Education Vital Link Sessions…

The End Elizabeth Weiss Irvine Valley College Thank you to Kathy Johnson from Vital Link for taking time out to go over her structure of organization in preparing for a college career event.