BY TRACY LEE TATE
Special to the Times
About 580 students, from grades 9 through 12, had the opportunity to explore possible training and employment options at the high school’s annual Career Day, held on Feb. 21, 2025.
Students gathered in the UCHS Auditorium (with the floor carefully covered) in groups, beginning at 8 a.m. and continuing through 11:30 a.m. Thirty-three vendors were set up around the edges of the floor, with others in a two-sided aisle down the center of the court. Each vendor had a table, literature was usually available as well as some free gifts for the student. Each student was required to prove participation by having a sheet signed or stamped by all the vendors they spoke with. Among the vendors were local and regional employers, colleges and other training facilities available in the area and elsewhere.
Vendors included the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office, Archer-Milton Funeral Home, the U.S. Army, Clay Electric, the U.S. Coast Guard, Coca-Cola Company, DLP, the Florida Department of Corrections, the Division of Forestry, the Dollar General Distribution Center, Union County EMS and Fire Fighters, the Florida Wildlife Commission, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Protection, the Florida Department of Transportation, Florida Gateway College, FGC Welding, Gainesville Electrical Joint Apprenticeship Program and Training Committee, Grand Canyon University, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, J Tech Institute, Johnson Controls, Lake Butler Hospital, the U.S. Marine Corp, the U.S. Navy, North Florida Technical College, Ring Power, Santa Fe College, the Union County Supervisor of Elections, the Union County Sheriff’s Office, the University of Florida, the University of Northwestern Ohio, Vystar Credit Union and W.W. Gay Mechanical Contracting.
