Teacher Job Fair at UHCL

Although there are many events taking place at UHCL on a daily basis, it isn’t often that I get to attend one.  See, I am not a traditional student at UHCL; I am the mother of four children, I work full time and I have a long commute. My campus commitment is confined to dashing in just as class starts and dashing out at the end to attempt to make it home at a decent hour!  So if I want to know about an event, I usually have to ask someone who had the time to attend.  Since I will be graduating soon and will be entering the teaching field, making it on campus for the Teacher Job Fair was an opportunity that I didn’t want to miss!

Of course, in usual fashion getting away from work in a timely manner just never happens, so I arrived to find hundreds of students already registered, checked in and waiting in spiraling and intertwining lines to visit with one of the many school district representatives.  Well, getting registered and checked in was the easy part, no lines there, but then the fun began!

Have you ever tried to add one more sardine to a can that is already packed full?  The Atrium was filled to capacity and here I am standing on the outside looking for an opening!  Finally, a break, I squeeze in! Now that I am in, I quickly discover that I am on the wrong side of the room! The school districts that I need to see are on the other side.  The mass confusion of bodies is so tight that the only choice is to swim upstream and apologize as I go.  Finally, reaching my destination, I find that the line is long but the sun is streaming through the roof creating a spotlight on exactly the spot that I have to stand in!  Seems poetic doesn’t it?  That had to be the hottest spot in the room!

Funny, when sweat begins to run down your face, the confidence and composure you were feeling, runs right along with it.  But I have to confess, it was oddly reassuring to see that those in line ahead of me were also sweating, apparently they had been the privileged student in that spotlight too!

Twenty minutes of waiting, I am prepared, I have listened to my fellow sweating students as they talk to the recruiters.  There is much excitement, they have several job openings, invitations to apply, resume is thoroughly read and discussed, I can see their confidence as they walk away!  I am feeling the excitement that I too will get my few moments in the limelight and my confidence returns.  Stepping up, my resume in hand, the recruiter takes a look at my name tag, the smile fades, “8-12 Technology?” she asks.  “We don’t often get many of those openings, but I’ll take your resume,” as she drops it in the pile. “Thanks for coming by. Next!”   Just like that, I have been dismissed.

Quick lesson noted and learned for this first time job fair attendee: get in line, cover up name tag with notebook, shake hands, introduce myself, and let them know how they are going to need me on their campuses. Job well done! I now have an invitation to attend two in-district job fairs in hand!

All in all, it was a great event brought to the education students by UHCL.  With 43 school districts in attendence and over 600 students, we could have used a little more elbow room and some air, but I think I will just chalk it up as a good day in the sardine can!