Photo By Airman 1st Class Carissa Fisher | Multiple high school students talk with 107th Attack Wing Medical Group members during...... read more read more
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The 107th Attack Wing hosted a recruiting career fair for western New York high school students on April 10, 2025 at Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station. The event was attended by 130 students and 16 teachers from Lancaster High School, Brocton High School and Ellicottville BOCES Criminal Justice program.
Over the course of the three-hour event, both students and teachers were presented with opportunities to speak with Airmen about their career field and their individual service experience, such as Public Affairs, Security Forces, Medical Group, and Special Warfare among others.
“Career fairs on base like this are a great way to have students and teachers come out and interact with our Airmen and get more hands-on experience of what it is our Airmen do,” Technical Sgt. Thomas Viau said, assigned to 107th Attack Wing recruiting team.
Many of the students, mostly juniors and seniors, were already intent on joining a military component upon graduation, but wanted to learn more about the Air National Guard and the wide variety of career fields offered.
Shelby Reisenweber, a sophomore from Brocton High School, said she was interested in the medical career field after speaking with Airmen assigned to the wings Medical Group because she would like to be able to help people in the future.
“I came to the military career fair today because I heard about it in my military history class and wanted to see what career I potentially saw myself in if I join the military,” she said.
A student who did not wish to be identified commented they didn’t know National Guard drill periods provided hands-on, real-world exercises such as medical emergency drills and packing wounds.
“I wasn’t sure what they did, I thought they just got called up during weather emergencies,” they said.
Attendees were also given the opportunity to see and test the wings Security Forces and MQ-9 training simulators.
The programs are designed to provide respectively assigned Airmen (Security Forces or Operations) experience in a range of scenarios they will likely encounter over the course of their careers, such as strike and reconnaissance missions with the MQ-9, or main gate altercations to complex oppositional assaults with Security Forces.
Systems like these are particularly helpful for traditional Guardsmen, or drill-status guardsmen, who only have drill weekends to train, qualify, and gain valuable experience.
“This event made me sway more towards a career in the Air Force because they seem to have more career opportunities that translate to everyday career fields,” said Reisenweber.
Students also received information on the New York Air National Guard’s 100% tuition assistance program, along with other benefits of joining the New York Air National Guard.
Another student who requested not to be identified stated they were surprised to learn about sign on bonuses for in-demand career fields, like Security Forces and Public Affairs.
“$25,000 is a lot of money,” they said.
“Students gained more of a hands-on experience by coming to the base, compared to lunchroom visits or classroom presentations," Viau said.
“Recruiters aren’t subject matter experts in all of the careers, so students being able to ask career specific questions and ask about what the Air National Guard is like for each unit member is very valuable to us,” he added.
| Date Taken: | 04.13.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 04.14.2025 08:36 |
| Story ID: | 495204 |
| Location: | NIAGARA FALLS, NEW YORK, US |
| Hometown: | BROCTON, NEW YORK, US |
| Hometown: | ELLICOTTVILLE, NEW YORK, US |
| Hometown: | LANCASTER, NEW YORK, US |
| Web Views: | 145 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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