FAIRMONT - As career paths change with the times, area businesses and colleges want today's youth to know what opportunities will exist back home when they graduate from college.
Seven area school districts participated in the second annual ACE career fair day at Fairmont High School on Wednesday. The day included orientations addressing job interviews and potential career paths.
"We learned from last year, and we did several things a little differently," said Fairmont Area Schools Superintendent Butch Hansen. "We also recognized this opportunity and helped students prepare for what type of questions to ask."
The colleges and businesses on hand noticed the group of students in attendance was participating more in what the career fair is meant to accomplish.
"We've seen an interest in summer jobs, but I think the kids are getting a better connection of why we're here," said Connie Hines of the Minnesota Workforce Center. "They're asking the right kind of questions, like one asked me how I ended up getting my job with the Workforce. That shows they're thinking, and that they're better prepared for the intent of this. They're not just walking around grabbing handouts."
Many students were seen spending a lot of time at the college booths.
"We've had a tremendous interest," said Terri Pelzel, a computer careers instructor at the Jackson campus of Minnesota West Community and Technical College. "The students are asking good questions. This is a wonderful thing that Fairmont offers the schools."
In some cases, the fair was just as helpful for the business participants. Some students were able to indulge a little by getting their hair done into a funky style for the day.
"We have some of our cosmetology students here," said Danylle Espenson, cosmetology instructor at Minnesota West. "While they practice, they are also working on their people skills. We've taken them out of their comfort zone."
Other special draws included a "virtual reality painter" at the auto body display for Ridgewater College in Willmar, and the basketball shoot with Hawkins Chevrolet, which was working with a speciality auto tech college from the Twin Cities.
Besides the colleges, many local businesses were on hand to show where these career paths could be put to work back at home. Earlier, students filled out a "career clusters" interest survey to target which career areas that might best suit them.
Most students at the career day were sophomores. Sophomores have been the ACE target, in order to help students determine their interests and strengths and take the classes they need to prepare for their professional choices. But what was learned also can help students find part-time or summer jobs.
While this is only the second year of the ACE career fair, it seems to be a huge success.
"We used to do a job fair, but it was nothing like this," said Linda Paplinski, co-president of local chapter of the American Association of University Women, which now assists with the career fair.
"The students have been very gracious to us," Hines said. "And that means a lot, considering a lot of employers have sent people out here for half the work day, so it's a big deal."
To prove her point, the tag marking the Workforce booth had a message scrawled at the bottom: "Thank you."
ACE is an effort among the state Department of Employment and Economic Development; Fairmont Area Chamber of Commerce; Fairmont Economic Development Authority; Martin County IGNITE; Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation; iSeek; and Fairmont Area Schools.
