Most high school students aren’t awake by 7:15 a.m. Saturdays, much less lining up nearly two hours early for a day of job interviews — but 16-year-old Katrina Dotson was ready.

By 1 p.m., Dotson, a student at Evanston Township High School, had interviewed for positions as a community cleanup gardener, a park assistant and a culinary shadower.

“I think (the interviews) went great,” Dotson said Saturday as she left the Mayor’s Summer Youth Employment Job Fair.

The job fair, held at the Civic Center, 2100 Ridge Ave., is part of the Summer Youth Employment Program. The project helps 14- to 18-year-olds find jobs and requires them to participate in educational events. Between 400 and 500 students attended the fair for 180 to 250 available jobs, said Paula Haynes, director of the Evanston Human Relations Commission.

The program has been scrutinized in recent years by Evanston City Council during its annual budget review. Although city staff recommended ending the program, its funding was retained following a large response from residents.

Most of the jobs were provided by the City of Evanston, but some private companies also interviewed candidates. Since students can obtain work permits when they turn 14, many participants were middle schoolers and young high school students looking for their first jobs, Haynes said.

One students said he hoped to buy a cell phones and clothes with the money he earned, then give the rest of his paychecks to his mother.

“I don’t want to always have to ask my mom for money,” said Reggie Boclair, 13. “I want to have responsibility and stuff to do so I won’t be so bored.”

Many students arrived at the fair with their parents, then waited to be allowed inside in smaller groups for check-in.