Maria Canton
Northern News Services

Kimmirut (Mar 27/00) - Surusimituq Michael says studying math and spelling will eventually lead her to the career of her choice.

And as every Grade 5 student knows, equations and 12-letter words spell trouble.

"Learning math and spelling is hard, but if I study a lot it will get easier," said Michael.

"We need to learn a lot so we can work when we're older and to teach our kids too."

As a student at Kimmirut's Qaqqalik school, Michael and her fellow schoolmates got to experience a career fair last week sponsored by the Department of Education.

With booths in the school gymnasium occupied by people from 20 different businesses and organizations in Iqaluit, along with several Kimmirut businesses, students were free to browse all afternoon and ask any questions they wanted.

"I've met a lot of people today and gotten ideas about jobs," said Michael.

"My favourite booth was the wildlife one with the sounds of the animals. I like the sound of the whale."

The school has 150 students and co-principal Patricia Smith says it's likely that every student made an appearance at the career fair.

"We were trying to figure out how many people attended -- most of the students attended and we think the majority of community members did too -- we only have 480 people in Kimmirut," said Smith.

"Everyone came and everyone really enjoyed it, we've been getting positive feedback for days."

The Department of Education has made travelling to communities with the career fair a priority, as a means of exposing students to career options and encouraging them to stay in school.

"The fair is a great opportunity to give students a chance to see what's out there and the chances and options they have open to them," said Smith.

"I've already been asked about next year's fair -- I would never say no if they wanted to come back."

Booths were outfitted with booklets of information on everything from applying to colleges, running a small business, joining the RCMP and even how to open a bank account.