Sandoval County to hold career fair for 120th anniversary

SANDOVAL COUNTY, N.M. – Sandoval County wanted to do something a little different for its 120th birthday this Friday by hosting a career fair with a side cake and a history lesson.

“We have 12 organizations that will be participating as employers. the county will be one of them, Village of Corrales will be one. If you’re interested in health care, we’re going to have both hospitals Presbyterian and Sandoval Regional on site as well as Indian Health Services,” said Johnson. 

Also, New Mexico Workforce Solutions. 

“So when you come, if you don’t quite have your resume together, you need some advice, they have a whole setup that will help you polish up your resume and will help you make connections with those other employers who may not be part of this fair,” said Johnson. “What we’re trying to do with this event is connect our past to individuals’ futures and create for them more history, I guess, as we grow and move into the future together.”

That’s where the Historical Society comes in. 

“This is the family of Sandoval for whom the county is named. They lived in Corrales which was at that time called Sandoval,” Johnson said. 

They’ll be presenting during the career fair on the rich history of New Mexico’s fastest growing county, for example, why it broke off from Bernalillo County.

“The railroad brought in thousands and thousands of people very quickly, and the politicians can’t control all these people, and that’s the bottom line. That’s the one we don’t talk about,” said Martha Liebert, a Sandoval County Historical Society archivist. 

Brianna: “How big was the county when it was founded?”

Martha: “oh just a few thousand people.”

Since it’s establishment on March 10, 1903, Sandoval County has grown to 150,000 people across 3,700 square miles. That alone is worth celebrating.

“You’ve got the cliches out there, you know– those that forget the past are doomed to repeat it. But really, we treasure our history, and our roots, and our cultures within this county that that is so wildly diverse,” said Johnson. 

For more information on the Sandoval County career fair and celebrations, click here.