FREDERICKSBURG The Fredericksburg Regional Chamber of Commerce welcomed 500 high school students from King George, Spotsylvania, Caroline, Stafford and Fredericksburg as well as college students from the University of Mary Washington and Germanna Community College on Tuesday, April 26th for the first ever Intern Expo.  More than forty regional businesses attended the expo to share details about intern opportunities at their businesses. Volunteers from the business community and school districts assisted in breakout rooms that helped students prepare an elevator pitch, create a LinkedIn account, and take a career assessment.

Rebecca Morris, Internship and Work-Study Counselor for Germanna Community College said, “What an inspiring and impressive event!  We hosted hundreds of students who were able to visit with community employers and learn from the breakout sessions. It was exciting to see students come so prepared and watch them engaging with their potential future employers. The Expo Center was alive with energy! Even the students who may not land an internship were able to practice and strengthen their soft skills, which is an invaluable opportunity. Employers were able to get a glimpse of the future talent pipeline and provide students with real-life examples of what work looks like.  I even heard one of the employer representatives say, “Wow, I wish they had something like this when I was a student!”  I’m proud that GCC is able to partner with the amazing staff at the Fredericksburg Regional Chamber so that we could be a part of the effort to support our community.”

A & B Creative Events business Owner Latasha Brooks said, “As a business owner, it felt so good to see so many people ready to get back to work. I really enjoyed the in person conversations and had over 25 students sign up to intern with me.”

Students that attended the event had the opportunity to apply for a $1,500 scholarship (2 available). The scholarships were sponsored by Rappahannock Electric Cooperative, Una-Dyn, and Matern Staffing. The Chamber’s Workforce Now Committee will review applications and announce the winners on June 1, 2022.

The event is a pilot program that is supported by a grant from Go Virginia and sponsorships from the Fredericksburg Area Builders Association, Mary Washington Healthcare and Rappahannock Electric Cooperative. For more information about interviews with businesses and school administrators about this event please visit the Fredericksburg Regional Chamber of Commerce YouTube Page

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