What will you be when you grow up?

POST FALLS — I had the pleasure of meeting a writer, a cartoonist, a music producer, a zoologist and a multimedia artist all in the same place Wednesday.

Although, I should note, these individuals are still aspiring in their fields. They’re high school seniors, deep in the process of exploring that burning question: "What do I want to be when I grow up?"

As someone who interviews people for a living, it was thrilling to interview these young people at the Post Falls Chamber of Commerce's 10th annual Reverse Job Fair, which was held at Real Life Ministries in Post Falls. Myself and more than 200 interviewers picked up clipboards full of evaluation forms and chose a handful of Post Falls students to chat with about their desired careers. It was tough to pick just a few from the roughly 200 stellar students and exhibits.

Unlike a normal job fair, where attendees ramble through a thoroughfare of corporate propaganda, marketing swag and stacks of business cards to talk to people about their jobs and companies, the Reverse Job Fair invites those already in the workforce to interview youths who are weighing their options. Students stand at tables topped with their handmade displays, which are filled with information about the careers that interest them. Exhibits can be simple and to the point or include work samples, photos of the students during job shadows or other visual aides like sketch books, cassette tapes or diesel engines.

And the students are ready for you; they're dressed to the nines and prepared to answer questions in a professional manner. They are also arranged in "career clusters" — such as health care, industrial systems and transportation, and human services and hospitality — so people who work in those fields can share their own relevant work experiences with the students.

"I think it’s really good because a lot of us come in blindsided. We’ve never done anything like this and it’s a good real-life experience, especially with interviews, because we’re able to meet people in the community who are interested in our fields," said 17-year-old Post Falls High School senior Chrissy Bassiri, the aspiring animator/multimedia artist. "We’re talking about the careers that we intend to go into, which is really nice because then we’ll start talking (more) about it. It’s really good experience for any type of interview."

Hundreds of interviews were conducted at this event. It is suggested interviewers stick to questions such as, "What type of training or education is required for this career and what schools offer it?" or "What challenges or obstacles do you have to reaching your career goals?" But it's also fun to ask questions about how the students became interested in certain careers and what their motivations are to pursue them.

The students also asked the interviewers questions about their careers, which brought me back to when I was in high school and drooling over the thought of being a journalist. I was able to share with one student that if it wasn’t for my artist friend encouraging me to join the high school newspaper and a willing (and wonderful) English teacher who wrote a letter of recommendation, I may never have gotten the journalism bug.

High school seems to be the crucial time to fall in love with a career, when the sky is the limit and your energy is boundless. College is when you cultivate and refine that love. It was quite refreshing to talk to young people who are in the middle of falling in love with their futures.

It was exceptionally exciting to meet a 17-year-old who shares my fascination with cryptozoology. That a high school senior even knows what cryptozoology is (it's a fringe science) and has a love of nature and its weird and undiscovered side makes me happy beyond belief.

"I regularly hear from interviewers that it restores their faith in the younger generations," Stacey Hanlon, interviewer coordinator, said of the Reverse Job Fair. "I always say it’s amazing what the students walk away with. They walk away with all the tools they need to be a better job-seeker and to find a path to a career."

I walked out of the Reverse Job Fair as I imagine many interviewers did — with a chest full of pride and a heart full of hope for the next generation of doers.

When you find your passion at a young age, research it, fall in love with it and pursue it, your career means more than a paycheck. It becomes something fulfilling that motivates you to get up every day and do your best.

Whether they become doctors, interior designers, architects, engineers, financial planners, dentists or funeral directors, these youths have great lives ahead of them. I just hope most of them stay in North Idaho, at least for a little while, so people can see what great minds and personalities are blossoming in our community right now.

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The Reverse Job Fair is a community education project of the Post Falls Chamber of Commerce, with strong support from its partners: North Idaho College, the Idaho Department of Labor, and Post Falls School District.