Aspen High School to host job fair on Friday

Aspen High School will host a job fair for students to explore local summer opportunities and beyond.

Over 25 local businesses, mostly from Aspen, will be at the fair from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Friday, April 18, where they will present to students and take job applications in the Skiers Dome.

Diane Godfrey, Aspen High School Career and Technical Education teacher, appreciates the importance of the job fair, as students gain real-world skills through work experience. 

“Kids are problem-solving on the job, kids learn customer service, kids learn communication skills and interpersonal skills,” Godfrey said.

She estimated 200 to 300 students will attend the fair, with mostly 16- to 18-year-olds looking for employment. But she estimated that at least half of the students at the high school have jobs, internships, or participate in work programs, either solely in the summer or also during the school year. 

“Our kids work everywhere, which is really exciting about our community,” she said. 

Paradise Bakery, Clark’s Market, The St. Regis Aspen Resort, Aspen Historical Society, Farm Collaborative, Snowmass Recreation Center, and the Aspen Recreation Center are a few of the businesses and organizations that will attend the fair. 

Godfrey said students work in customer service, hospitality, as lifeguards, at the front desk, in outdoor recreation, and more. But regardless of the position, students learn critical skills like how to be on time and how to pay taxes.

“These are life skills,” she said. “That’s why I feel like every work experience is so great.”

Owner and manager of Paradise Bakery Dyan Bronstein said she will be at the fair, continuing the bakery’s legacy as a supporter of high school and young people pursuing a first job.

“They get to serve and visit with people from all over the world that come into Aspen and Paradise Bakery,” Bronstein said. “I think it teaches responsibility, it teaches teamwork and accountability to a job.”

The job fair falls in line with the high school’s Career and Technical Education program, which offers a number of pathways for students to pursue a professional education and prepare for the working world. The pathways include aviation, engineering and STEM, outdoor leadership, multimedia, hospitality, culinary, construction and woodshop, business, and work-based learning.

To help spike students’ professional interests, the program brings in community speakers, takes them to visit workplaces in person, and gives them job interview training as well as resume consultation. 

Active professional experience is a big part of the program, according to Godfrey. Students can get school credit for working 12 to 15 hours a month — equivalent to class time — and pursue their professional interests.

“We’re working hard to make our learning relevant and get kids real world experience,” she said, adding, “We are so lucky that our businesses are so supportive and so willing to work with us here at the high school.”

Skyler Stark-Ragsdale can be reached at 970-429-9152 or email him at sstark-ragsdale@aspentimes.com.