PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — It was a career day with a little history involved.
Second graders at Universal Bluford Charter School welcomed Philadelphia's first female commissioner of paramedics to their virtual job fair.
Crystal Yates, the Philadelphia Fire Department's first female commissioner of paramedics, was among those inspiring speakers.
The goal of the Zoom-based career fair was to introduce children to potential job opportunities.
"The goal of the virtual career fair is to inspire our young scholars," said Principal Crystal Gary-Nelson.
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"What are your wildest dreams at the fire department?" Amaria, a second grader, asked the paramedics commissioner.
"My wildest dream is that we have a day where nobody has a fire and nobody has a medical emergency, and that they don't need us." Yates shared.
"How many goals have you achieved as a firefighter?" asked Shekora, a feow second grader.
"I came into the job as a paramedic. I took the test to become a lieutenant and a little while later I became a lieutenant, so that's one goal," Yates said, entering storytelling mode.
"A little while later, I became a captain, and then a little while later I became a chief, and then I was the assistant deputy commissioner, and now I'm the deputy commissioner. But more importantly on Monday, I'm going to graduate again from college!"
"Oh, that's cool, I like that!" Shekora responded.
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"Thank you, you guys are awesome!" Yates delievered back.
So awesome that Yates' virtual visit became a bit of a very advanced recruiting trip.
"When I grow up, I'm going to be the same thing as well," second grader Jamal said.
"That's awesome!" Yates responded.
She recommended he reach out to his local fire department for a visit.
"So that you can go inside and see and touch all of the trucks, and tell them when you go inside that you want to be a firefighter when you grow up," Yates suggested.
The children also heard from a cosmetic dentist, a digital marketing manager, a young business owner and a children's book author and blogger.