Young adults with disabilities given hands-on look into jobs in community

BAY ST. LOUIS, Miss. (WLOX) - Young adults and Bay St. Louis High School students with disabilities were given an amazing opportunity on Friday as they navigated their way through a job extravaganza.

“This is where the rubber meets the road,” said Kevin Bishop, MS Department of Rehabilitation Services Deputy Administrator. “Having the students here, interacting with the world around them.”

These job extravaganzas are not like a job fair, Bishop says. It’s not handing out simple fliers, but instead, something much more.

“What we’re trying to do is get the kids, the students, hands-on,” he said. “Try to get them to see what a job is, to get their minds working.”

Students were able to explore job opportunities with public works, law enforcement, and private businesses like Lowe’s or Domino’s, just to name a few. At each station, they learned what skills they need to enter their dream career path.

Kamorah Walker, a junior at Bay High School, is hoping to enter nursing school after her time at Bay High.

“It’s all about experience,” Walker said. “It’s all about what you can do and what you can’t do.”

Bishop said no matter what someone is interested in, many career paths can be explored at the extravaganza.

“We don’t want them just thinking of that first job,” said Bishop. “You need to think further out. And that’s what we’re trying to train them and teach them to do.”

Bishop said this is all about inclusivity — a time for these youths to recognize their innate talents and abilities and apply them in the community, making it known that they are needed and there is a job out there for everyone.

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