Reporter photo / Canfield Post’s Sean Barron of the Ohio State Highway Patrol Trooper Lindsay McGill challenges Campbell Memorial High School junior Jonuel Olivier Ortiz to walk in a straight line wearing special glasses during Thursday’s simulation as part of Career and Campus . College Fair at school.

CAMPBELL — A significant part of accounting involves analyzing, verifying and reporting the results of financial and business transactions, but no math was required to understand what was behind Amy Graziano’s desire to give back to her alma mater.

“I just want them to be aware of what public accounting is,” said Graziano, a senior accountant in the Canfield office of Packer Thomas Public Accounting.

Graziano, a 2014 Campbell Memorial High School graduate, was happy to share his career knowledge and resources with junior and senior students who attended the Career and College Fair held in the school gym Thursday morning.

Northeast Ohio IMPACT Academy also hosted the three-hour meeting.

Among the facts Graziano hoped students would learn about the world of accounting were to know that the field is “constantly evolving” and to view accounting through a broader lens; This meant that employees weren’t the only ones sitting in front of computers all day. For many, the field offers good pay, stability and growth opportunities, he said.

Perhaps more importantly, Graziano added, accounting is largely about networking and interacting with others, with an emphasis on teamwork and improving society.

“I wish they had this when I was in high school,” he said, referring to Thursday’s fair.

Among those he helped was Campbell Memorial High School student Danny Dirando, who cited math as his favorite subject, but added that he was “open to any suggestions” regarding possible careers after high school.

More than 25 local and regional vendors have set up shop at the fair, representing business and industry, as well as post-secondary education and the military, said manager Brad Yeager.

The event also highlighted the importance of the three “Es”: education, employment and military recruitment, while also serving as a “two-way street” between the school and regional business and industry communities.

Yeager explained that exposing students to opportunities in those sectors, as well as the business industry and the Armed Forces, is also a high priority.

To that end, various organizations represented at the fair include the Ohio State Highway Patrol, Akron Children’s Hospital, Lencyk Masonry, Vallourec, Bricklayers and Tilers Northeast Ohio union, Howard Hanna Real Estate Services, Cornerstone Mental Health Nurse Practitioners, Blended. Cutz Barbering and Olsavsky Jaminet Architects Inc. Schools and colleges included the Choffin Career and Technical Center, Mahoning County Career and Technical Center, Kent State University, Stark State College in North Canton, the University of Akron, Penn State University, New Castle Business School, and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center School of Nursing.

Among those exploring various career options and possibilities were Campbell Memorial High School seniors Vincent Grachanin, Kevin Timlin, Daveyon Cash and Caiden Smith.

“I was always interested in circuits and stuff like that,” Grachanin said, adding that he preferred to study electrical or mechanical engineering at Youngstown State University.

YSU is also on Cash’s radar because she hopes to go into the nursing field and become a home nurse and work in the home health industry; a move that would allow her to follow in the footsteps of her mother and eldest sister. Cash said she’s open to other ideas if nursing doesn’t work out.

Smith, who is also considering YSU, is also intrigued by pre-med plans to pursue construction or electrical engineering or something in the trades as a backup plan. Becoming a general family doctor is his long-term goal, Smith added.

Attending a trade school is on Timlin’s horizon, but he hasn’t set any specific plans yet, he said, adding that he’s also interested in learning more about nursing and the construction industry.

Just walking in a straight line while keeping his balance was a challenge for Campbell Memorial High School student Jonuel Olivier Ortiz after Trooper Lindsay McGill of the Ohio State Highway Patrol’s Canfield Post gave him a pair of special black glasses to wear.

Olivier Ortiz was among the students McGill wore glasses as part of a simulation that allowed them to experience impaired driving at levels similar to 0.2 blood alcohol content, more than twice Ohio’s 0.08 BAC legal limit.

Yeager said Thursday’s fair was also invaluable in providing business and industry personnel with a chance to see that students will have what it takes to become quality employees.