College, career fair exposes central Ohio students to HBCU experience
A steady stream of people poured into the French Field House on the Ohio State University campus Saturday morning.
But it wasn't for a track and field meet.
High school students were in the venue to network with more than a dozen historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUS) and up to 50 employers at the 2021 Battelle College, Career & Community Fair.
The event was part of the Classic for Columbus, a week of programming, activities and a football match between Central State University and Kentucky State University at Ohio Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Which companies were at the fair?
The building bustled with music and conversation as people hopped around to booths decorated with colorful logos. PNC Bank, the Columbus Division of Fire and Quantum Health were just a handful of companies onsite. Students earned a free ticket to the football game if they received a passport stamped by six schools or businesses.
A trio of high school students from Lima Senior High School in northwest Ohio were there checking out potential options for their college careers.
“It's really nice. I'm learning a lot of information,” said Emonie Young, a 15year-old sophomore who wants to study nursing. She said she was interested in learning more about Central State.
“I'm thinking about that one, too,” said her best friend, Honesty Baker, also a 15-year-old sophomore, who wants to be a traveling nurse. Baker said she learned about an opportunity to take a free State Tested Nurse Aides (STNA) course from one of the companies at the fair.
Anastazja Kirklen, a 16-year-old junior who is interested in studying child psychology, also is interested in attending a HBCU. But she'd prefer to go out of
state, “just to be around something different,” she said.
How many people attended the career fair?
The fair was presented by Nationwide, Huntington Bancshares, the city of Columbus, the Franklin County Board of Commissioners and Revolution Mortgage. More than 500 students from Columbus City Schools registered for the fair, according to James Ragland, who is on the Columbus City Schools Board of Education.
“It's a dream come true for us,” said Ragland, who was at Saturday's event. “We understood that they're already thinking about college, but many of our students just needed a little bit more of a (push) to get over the hump with that. If we can catch them right now, inspire them and move them towards that college track, that's really good for us.”
Ragland said he remembers attending the Classic for Columbus decades ago at the since-demolished Cooper Stadium in Franklinton. The Classic
continued to operate in different parts of the state but went on a brief hiatus in recent years.
Classic board member Leonard Hubert said he was excited to help bring the event back to Columbus.
"Anytime you talk about an HBCU Classic, everybody thinks football," he said. "Football is a central part of it, but one of the things we talked about was the importance of having youth exposed to what a HBCU is about."
How a North Linden church got involved in the career fair
New Salem Baptist Church in North Linden was another partner in the college, career and community fair.
“Every day, we try to wake up and figure out how the church can use its resources and relationships to create a connected community,” said Adam Troy, chief engagement officer of the Community of Caring Development Foundation, the nonprofit arm of the church.
“Here in this setting, it's very nurturing. We have a number of students here who are high achievers but have just never been introduced to the HBCU experience. Today is about access and exposure.”
Both Adam Troy and his brother, Eric, attended Morehouse College, an HBCU in Atlanta.
Eric Troy, founder and CEO of Eficionado, a brand management company, said it was important to have OSU as a partner.
“We have so many people of color that don't even see Ohio State's campus," he said. "And so to have that kind of exposure is pretty cool.”
Representatives from rivals Central State and Kentucky State also were present to speak with students.
“We've got a lot of exciting things going on," Lauren Young, an enrollment specialist at Central State, said. "We have a brand new president. He's pushing a lot of great incentives for students. Right now, we have free books for all students all year. We have lots of different scholarships available, and today we're just here to spread that news and beat KSU.”
KSU recruiter and 2019 graduate Alona Davidson said it was important to give students opportunities to "spread their wings" beyond Ohio.
“When you go to K-state, it feels like you're walking into a family barbecue," she said. "You can be yourself fully with no judgment or no bias.”
As the event sponsor, Battelle's goal was to "lean into" the HBCU community, according to Chief Information Officer David White.
"We're really working hard to embrace what that represents and how we can leverage that to help bring more diversity to the company,” he said. “We really want to build that next generation of scientists. We look at the workforce we have today, and we see an underrepresentation of people of color. And so we really are trying to figure out, 'How do you solve that problem?' And part of that is reaching back into the universities.” ethompson@dispatch.com @miss_ethompson