Sumter County high school students joyfully banged a gong Wednesday to signal the good news that they had landed summer jobs.
A job fair was held at Sumter PREP Academy in Wildwood to bring potential employers together with students from South Sumter High School, Wildwood Middle High School, the Sumter PREP Academy and The Villages High School.
Potential employers included the T&D family of companies, the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office, Crevalle Boats of Wildwood, American Medical Response which operates Sumter County EMS and others.
Employers were prepared to hire students on the spot and when the students secured a job, they were invited to bang a gong to share the news with everyone at the job fair held in the gymnasium. Their fellow students, sharing the joy, encouraged the job recipients to bang the gong a second time.
“Louder!” they shouted.
Angel Flanders, a junior was hired by McDonalds to work at a local restaurant. She was excited to have the opportunity to have a part-time job and get some work experience. The Wildwood Middle High School student banged the gong with gusto after getting the job.
Sequaria Avant, a South Sumter senior wants to be an entrepreneur and was seeking a first job to gain some experience. When she met Lisa Pierce, the Talent Acquisition Director for Ad-Vance Talent Solutions, Avant found a temp agency looking for motivated workers.
Zarryah Jackson plans to attend college to work toward a degree in criminology. She also landed a job with Ad-Vance Talent.
Sumter School Superintendent Rick Shirley and School Board member Sally Moss both did a walk-through at the event to lend their support to both employers and job seekers.