Hazard Middle School Career Fair Connects Students to Local Opportunities

A student named Johnson walked away from Hazard Middle School's annual career fair last week with something most middle schoolers don't expect: a detailed understanding of how veterinary medicine differs from human medicine. "I've learned about vets, how the vet school is different and how they actually have to relate some of their like medicine stuff to what humans actually use and how it varies between humans and animals," Johnson said. That kind of specific, unexpected knowledge was exactly the point.

Hazard Middle School hosted the career fair on March 21, drawing local businesses and professionals from across Perry County to give students a direct look at the careers available to them without leaving home. Sarah Olinger, the school's family resource director and the coordinator of the event, said the goal was simple: show students what Hazard has to offer before they ever reach high school.

"We just want to expose kids to opportunities that they have around here and start thinking about careers even though they're just in middle school but just to expose them to what's around here just in our community," Olinger said.

Students moved through the fair asking questions, gaining insight into different professions, and, as the school describes it, envisioning career opportunities they can pursue right here in Hazard and Perry County. Olinger said she believes that early exposure gives students a stronger footing as they transition into high school.

The need for that kind of grounding is real. According to the Institute of Education Services, 86% of high schools report that they are preparing students for the workforce, but fewer schools in high-poverty areas rate themselves highly in that preparation. Hazard Middle School staff say they are working to close that gap from the middle school level up.

The career fair fits into a broader, ongoing push to build workforce pathways in Perry County. Partners for Rural Impact, through a federally supported FSCS grant that began in spring 2024, has worked alongside Perry County and Hazard Independent school districts to support college and career activities including health conferences, post-secondary campus tours, and career exploration fairs. In its first year, the grant created job opportunities for more than a dozen high school students through partnerships with the Army Corps of Engineers, local health providers, and Kentucky State Parks. School coordinators have also met with the Hazard Chamber of Commerce to understand which skills and qualities matter most to local employers.

Those efforts have not come without setbacks. Extreme flooding in the summer of 2022 destroyed countless homes, two schools, and many community spaces across Perry County. A second round of flooding in February 2025 disrupted the recovery work that had been underway. Through those challenges, school and community partners have continued building programs aimed at keeping young people connected to the region's future, not just its past.