On Wednesday, March 15, 2017, Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College hosted its twenty-third annual Career and College Fair in the gym on campus. More than 1,300 high school and middle school students from 19 area schools participated in this unique, and important, educational event.
The long-running event featured about 75 volunteers from the local business and professional community who shared information about their careers and occupations with the participating students. An additional 25 representatives from colleges and universities throughout Minnesota were also present to answer questions and share program information. The result was a fun, interesting, and educational activity for everyone involved.
“We set the event up in a trade show format, so each career representative and college representative is stationed at a table where they can interact with the students,” said Tom Urbanski, Director of Public Information at Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College. “It’s a format that has worked well and is comfortable for both the students and the career representatives.”
The annual Career Awareness & College Fair provides a great chance for students to identify potential career opportunities and actually sit down and have conversations with professionals currently employed in the careers of interest to the students. Discussions center on job requirements and qualifications, what a common day of work is like, salary ranges, and some of the pros and cons of the career.
College representatives explain career and technical programs and degree options and admission requirements.
The students are each given a packet of current career information, along with a list of questions to ask the career representatives. Most of the career representatives bring samples of their work projects or tools and specialized equipment commonly used in a day’s work.
The annual Career Awareness & College Fair is organized and hosted by the Admissions Office staff and Public Information Department at Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College. The event is one of the longest-running annual events at the college and is one of the largest career exploration activities in the area.