Recently the Ross College campus in Hopkinsville, Kentucky hosted a job fair for the local communities and campus. The campus was happy to have representatives from eight local healthcare providers, a staffing agency, and an organ donor agency. They also had a blood drive with Western Kentucky Regional Blood Center at the campus during the event. They enjoyed a great turn out with a mixture of local citizens, past graduates, and current Ross students.
All of the representatives at the job fair were excited to speak about their organizations. Organ Donor Associate Betty Lingenfelter, stated, “we are always looking for donors especially this time of year due to the nature of traveling and with the high number of accidents, on land and our lakes.” She asked each person that walked through the job fair if he or she was already a donor. The representative from Suncrest Center was Kim Shoulders, from Wise Staffing was Sheena Wilson and Timothy Ellis, from Christian Heights was Alphema Prather and Alfonso, from Kindred Health was Alicia Paris and Jodi Oliver, from Home Instead was Brianna Contini, and from Ahava HealthCare was AJ Geary.
Each vendor brought $25.00 gifts that were given away every 30 minutes during the event. Instructors let students that were in class come to the job fair after the final was completed. Occupational Therapy Assistant program student Kayla Cooper shared with the representative from Christian Heights Assisted Living, “you all came at the right time today, because I just got into disagreement with my boss, he didn’t want to let me off work today to come and take my final.” Alfonso told her, “take this application, fill it out and we will call you next week for an interview.” The campus has always received great response from the local organizations working with their students for potential extern sites and possible employment.
The campus typically has a job fair once a year, and has had the pleasure of working with many of these representatives and organizations in the past. Others are new due to the nature of the programs the campus offers. These organizations enjoyed their time on campus looking for potential employees and potential externs. They also have the Kentucky Bloodmobile once each year. The summer months are critical in the Kentucky area. Due to accidents on highway vacations, and the lakes and campgrounds being enjoyed, people are prone to accidents and there is always shortage for Type A-. Many students, faculty, and staff members participated in the drive. They even had some students who donated for the first time.