By Shan Yonamine

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Thirty-eight MHS students entered the Quest for Success career fair not knowing what to expect but left with a wealth of knowledge on college and career pathways. The event was put on by the Rotary Club of Mililani Sunrise at the Trinity Lutheran Church, on Nov. 16.

“Quest for Success (is) an event that will give (MHS) students… an opportunity to explore the different ways that they can pursue their career paths. Not every single career has a direct path, many, many careers, if not most, have very, very wandering paths,” stated Quest for Success Director Dexter Yee of the Rotary Club of Mililani Sunrise.

Students were free to research any career they were interested in. The Rotary Club of Mililani Sunrise’s intent was to create a career fair where students would not gain employment, but basic knowledge about various career options. “It’s called Quest for Success because the idea again behind it is that you’re going on a journey and you’re searching for a career path versus at a job fair. When you go to a job fair you kind of have an idea of who’s there,” stated Leeward Community College (LCC) Job Preparatory Specialist Angela Coloretti, continuing, “It’s not a job fair in the sense that you’re applying for work, it’s more for a career exploration.”

In the opening event, students took the RIASEC test which is an assessment to determine which career pathways they were most privy to. “The RIASEC test helped me figure out what my interest areas are and which careers would best match my personality,” stated Junior Lynn Yokota.

Volunteer representatives from each pathway, both professionals and students, were present to talk about their careers.Many of them were from LCC, who has been in affiliation with the Rotary Club from the first Quest for Success three years ago. “To my knowledge this is our third year participating but I think that there was a relationship with the Rotary Club in the past,” stated Coloretti.

Both the Rotary Club and LCC hope that students use their knowledge from the event to benefit themselves in college. “I believe (skills taught at Quest for Success) are important because I’m seeing college students now who are coming out of high school that have no idea what they’re doing. They have no direction and so I think by stopping … what you’re doing and sitting down half of a day and kind of thinking about it, it’s just you know beginning your path and it can give you that direction,” said Coloretti.

Yee agreed, saying, ” (The Rotary Club of Mililani Sunrise) believes that the future of the world leis in the young people we have today, so our focus is to provide all of the resources and opportunities to the students today so they can make this a better place.”

Based off of feedback from MHS, the Rotary Club of Mililani Sunrise hopes to continue to put on Quest for Success in years to come.