KBIC Natural Resource Department Outreach Coordinator Austin Ayers, left and Field Fisheries Coordinator  Patrick LaPointe spoke with multiple students throughout the day about career possibilities within their department. Ayers said KBOCC students are ideal for positions with their understanding of western science and cultural traditions.

BARAGA — The Keweenaw Bay Ojibwa Community College (KBOCC) held its annual Job Fair and Career Expo for its students and local high school students at the Niiwin Akeaa Center Wednesday. The job fair featured 47 employer vendors five of them departments within the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (KBIC).

Among the near 100 KBOCC students who participated in the job fair was Cassidy Nauertz, who is four years into studying liberal arts and business. He moved to the area from Milwaukee to rebuild his life.

“I came here just working a job, going home and not knowing anybody. I was feeling pretty hopeless in my life at that point, and decided to start school at KBOCC. The last four years have literally transformed my life in terms of my vision, hopes, dreams and perspective on things.”

Nauertz is planning to start his own business and utilize his education to launch his own entrepreneurship. He said he felt he could further expand his potentials at the job fair. “It’s reinforcing opportunity, hope and vision just being able to see a lot of things going on [at the fair],” Nauertz said. “Being able to network and learn about other possible opportunities I think is pretty cool.”

Among local employers present was L’Anse Family Dental. The dentistry is eager to get local students interested in the field because of a shortage of dental hygienists. Hygienist Kelsey Lindstrom was at the fair and was impressed with the questions students asked her about her profession.

“In the dental field, I feel like you have to be personable and be able to communicate with the public,” she said. “For dental hygiene specifically, you have to be willing to go through some schooling. But coming back to these smaller areas really benefits the local community.”

Among the KBIC departments present was the Natural Resource Department, which has hired many students from KBOCC in full time positions. KBIC Natural Resource Department Outreach Coordinator Austin Ayers said the college has created technical experts the department has implemented into their programs which have served the community.

“They (students) come in, not only motivated, but with an understanding of what we’re doing, not only from a cultural perspective, but from a biological perspective from the western science point of view,” he explained. “So it’s a really nice way to meld those two qualities of understanding between your western science and understanding traditional knowledge.”

An agency new to the job fair was the U.S. Customs and Border Protection. While the nearest station in the U.P. is in Sault Ste. Marie, the agency operates throughout the peninsula. Supervisor Ryan Halverson was excited to explain to students the opportunities they may have by pursuing a career within the agency.

“One of the neatest things about our agency is that we’re so diverse that it doesn’t matter the background of the person,” he said. “So many people who work for us have come from so many different other jobs like nursing for example.”

KBOCC Workforce Development Department Chair Joan Kruzich said the fair is not only for its students but also the surrounding community.

“It’s important for us to get out there in the community and find out what it needs in response to education, but then also to help people find jobs if they do have their degrees,” she said.