Long Prairie Career Fair offers up-close look at careers for students

With the end of the school year rapidly approaching, Long Prairie students were able to tap into career aspirations at a recent career fair welcoming students from seventh to twelfth grade. This year marked the return of the fair after several on pause. Brad Evenson, community education coordinator at Long Prairie-Grey Eagle Senior High School, said receiving an Achievement and Integration Grant for the school district was instrumental for arranging the program to meet the needs of approximately 500 students.

“One of the things the grant focuses on is post-secondary education for kids from underprivileged schools,” Evenson explained. “You work on achievement, and and you also open doors for kids to be able to see into career development, and that’s where the career fair falls. When I rewrote the grant three years ago, I wrote a section in there to revitalize the career fair and redo it.”

Revitalizing career exploration 

To maximize the career fair’s value for students, organizers revamped the event’s structure. Instead of centering around a standard walk-through, students enjoyed in-depth interaction time with the presenters in a more classroom-like environment. The setting makes it easier for students to ask questions, participate in demonstrations, and walk through activities with businesses and educational institutions. Meeting student interests was a top consideration as the event took shape. 

“We started with a student survey of what the kids were interested in,” Evenson explained. “We wanted to bring in universities and colleges but also fields students wanted to learn more about. We were able to bring in presenters on 35 different topics.”

Using the survey responses, short sessions, and a registration system, students signed up for multiple career and higher-education-focused sessions. One session also featured eight vendors in the Long Prairie region looking for workers immediately, providing an opportunity for older students to pick up a summer job or afterschool workl. 

Introducing students to careers 

As students navigated different presentations at the event, they learned about career paths from engineering to nursing to photography and frequently engaged in hands-on activities related to the career. Information-sharing included important decision-impacting details, such as the education level required for a role, the salary students could expect, what makes a job rewarding or contributes to tough days, and what the cadence of daily work looks like. 

Learning the different directions a career in one field can take was an eye-opening experience for many students. For example, a local company sharing information on becoming an electrician chronicled the process from apprenticeship to becoming a journeyman while also sharing how a career can be built to focus on residential or commercial real estate. Similarly, a local photographer highlighted the intersection of photography and graphic design, showing students how photography can include portraits, real estate, and business photography. They also highlighted the overlap of photography with graphic design, creating websites, building promotional materials, and other unique opportunities.

Evenson highlighted the efforts of Luan Thomas-Brunkhorst, director of the Long Prairie Area Chamber of Commerce, for coordinating appearances by area businesses, and the contributions of other volunteers, including school staff for making the event happen. He also recognized the local businesses and professionals who take the time to prepare a presentation and spend the day with students. 

“Without the whole community, this wouldn’t work,” Evenson noted. 

To learn more about the Long Prairie workforce, visit our website here.