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At job fair, students meet with Island employers

Employers hungry for help after struggling through two tough summers did all they could last week to attract students to join their staffs. 

By the end of the April 27 job fair at Shelter Island School, students had provided their contact information to a number of employers and collected souvenirs being offered by company representatives. But whether the students will follow through and convert those indications of interest remains to be seen.

Students qualify for working papers if they will be 14-years-old by the time the job would start; that’s why students in grades 8 through 12 were allowed to participate.

Twenty four employers had signed up to participate, including the Shelter Island Country Club at Goat Hill, which offered chances to win T-shirts and hats. The Shelter Island Heights Beach Club is looking for lifeguards and appeared to be a popular stop.

Board of Education member Rob Strauss told students working for his Party Rental business is a fun way to earn money. Of course, it’s a lot of weekend work, but so too are a lot of jobs — restaurants that need dishwashers, students to bus tables and wait on customers during the busy tourist season.

Shelter Island Yacht Club is looking for front desk staff as well as other jobs. The Yacht Club’s Mariana Koehler said she thought the best ambassadors to convince students to work there would be their conversations with students who have worked there in the past.

Representatives from other restaurants — SALT; the Islander, that has to staff its restaurant and its food truck at Crescent Beach; the Pridwin, which expects a soft opening by mid-June and needs a large number of employees; and the Ram’s Head Inn. 

Others represented the Shelter Island Library, the Perlman Music Program, Coecles Harbor Marina, Reich Eklund Construction, and Camp Quinipet.

Students were noncommittal about whether they had identified jobs they would hope to get. But this is a time of year when students are focused on tests, year-end assignments and end-of-school year social events. It may be sometime in June before some focus on how to spend their summer.