Annual Crafton STEM Career Fair connects Roadrunners to employers

Publish Date: March 8, 2024

STEM Fair

Crafton Hills College’s annual STEM Career Fair is all about connecting Roadrunners to the people and organizations that offer employment or educational programs in STEM-related fields.

This year’s event was held on Feb. 21, when dozens of students interacted with reps from the likes of University of California, Riverside, San Bernardino County Fire, Garner Holt Productions, and Esri, to name a few participants.

“The STEM community here at Crafton is small but mighty, and our biggest goal is to help spread the word of STEM in any way we can,” explained Krysten Audibert, the College’s director of MESA and STEM education.

Biology majors Evan Castillo and Yakira Huff were among the dozens who attended who. Both posed questions to the working professionals about their respective careers and why and how they began a career in STEM. 

“For me, I want to know what their whole deal is, why they do it and what they are passionate about,” Castillo, 18 of Highland, explained. “If you want people to work with your organization, you need to be able to show that you care about what you are doing.”

Added Huff, “I really wanted to get to know some of the universities in attendance, find out more about their departments and majors, and look into their conservatory opportunities because I’m interested in ecological systems and the study of mushrooms.

 “Basically, I want to know which places have these opportunities available for someone like me,” the 20-year-old Banning resident continued.

Career Fairs at Crafton often bring out a big crop of Roadrunners seeking information about their career paths. Audibert said these fairs are like the “exploratory phase” of a student’s educational journey because they allow them to absorb information from those in STEM professions and help unlock a new passion or inspire them to keep pushing forward. 

And with the field of STEM growing at a rapid pace, career fairs are vital in helping to fill employment gaps in industries. “STEM is not going away – it is what advances our society,” Audibert continued. “We want to create opportunities of success here and we want to continue to build that bridge.”