Garfield Re-2 school board kicked off their board meeting on Wednesday with appreciation for former School Resource Officer (SRO), Cpl. Josh Allison of the Rifle Police Department, before hearing from Rifle High School students about a mini career fair that helps fourth graders explore jobs in and around Garfield County. 

Former SRO honored

School leaders from across the district thanked Allison and presented him with an award on behalf of Garfield Re-2.

“Having worked with you, Josh, for the last many years at Rifle Middle School, always, always kept calm, no matter what was going on, and there are a lot of reasons to give up the calm sometimes,” Assistant Superintendent Jennifer Nipper said. “That presence was greatly appreciated.”

Allison said it had been an honor to serve the district.

“It’s been an honor working for Re-2, a lot of memories, a lot of good experiences with each and every one of you,” Allison said. “I’m going to miss this assignment a lot. A whole lot. It probably won’t hit me until August, when I don’t return to school next year, but it’s been good.”

Board member Chance Jenkins spoke about an experience he had with Allison. 

“He’s been professional every time I’ve been around him, we’ve gone through the swatting…listening to his recount of him having to open the school up after that, I’ll never forget that,” Jenkins said. “I can’t imagine being the officer that has to walk through that school on lockdown, not sure what to find.”

Board President Fathom Jensen thanked Allison for being a positive role model for the students and Jacob Pingel, director of curriculum for secondary students, also added a story. 

“I was assistant principal at Rifle High School when Josh came on, and one of the things when you’re working in building administration and all the building leaders can say this, at some point during the year, you’re always going to use the phrase, ‘well, never thought I’d see that,” Pingel said. “Working with our team, there were a lot of things that I never thought I would see…and more than just a teammate, you were a friend in those times, and I really, really appreciated that.”

Pingel said that some things were more personal and it was great to have a SRO that understood that and did more. 

Mini career fair

The board also heard a presentation on Garfield Re-2’s mini career fair, where two students each from Rifle High School and Coal Ridge High School work with fourth grade students in Rifle, Silt, and New Castle, helping them learn about jobs in and around Garfield County. 

All four students were slated to speak about their experiences, but the Coal Ridge students were unable to attend. One was sick and another was asked to help a community member. 

Fernando Moya, a Rifle High School senior, and Yajir Maganya, a Rifle High junior, joined Pingel to talk about the program.

Pingel said one of the focuses of the mini career fair is exposing younger students to jobs beyond the careers they may see in their own families. 

“We want students to have a voice, even at fourth grade,” Pingel said. “Students are way more engaged and invested when they feel like they have had some kind of voice in what they’re engaging in.”

Students mentioned interests in six categories: environmental, creativity, trades, safety, support, and business. 

“A lot of the kids were really interested in the things we talked about,” Moya said. “A lot of them were saying they wanted to become what their parents wanted to be, a lot were saying ‘my parent is a dentist,’ so they wanted to become a dentist.”

Moya said as they told the fourth graders about other options, like a chef, an engineer, or an athlete, many students were raising their hands and saying they wanted to be those careers, too. 

“There was one kid, he kind of shocked me, because he said he wanted to be a paleontologist,” Maganya said. “When I was his age, I didn’t even know that a dentist was considered a doctor, so it was very surprising that he knew that.”

Some students wanted more unique jobs, like a paleontologist or a track and field coach. 

Each category had a top-rated job attached to it: park ranger for environmental, artist for creativity, chef/cook for trades, police officer for safety, fashion designer for support, and lawyer for business. 

Artist and chef/cook had the most interest from students out of all the categories side by side. 

“As they’re talking about different career fields and dream jobs and what are you interested in seeing at the mini career fair, I could see it in their eyes, in their expression, when they would get to certain slides…maybe a career of being an environmental scientist, and a certain kid’s eyes would just glow,” Pingel said. “Even the bigger kids as well, that possibility that even as a senior and a junior, you’re not locked into what you think you’re going to do right after graduation.”

Presenters at the career fair included a police officer, a lawyer, an artist, a professional athlete, a video content creator, an architect, a wilderness medicine instructor, real estate agent, professional chef, and more.