Fifth-annual College and Career Expo held

0
300

GREENFIELD — More than 50 colleges, universities, employers and other organizations filled the exhibit hall Monday night during the fifth-annual College and Career Expo.

The event, held for a second year at the Hancock County 4-H Fairgrounds and organized by Leaders in Navigating Knowledge, provided access to military recruiters, local job recruiters, community colleges, and trade schools in addition to the customary four-year colleges and universities in an attempt to cater to a larger variety of further education options, organizers said.

Representatives from local EMS, fire departments, police departments and a local electricians’ union also attended the event to talk up their careers.

LINK works to provide support to young adults preparing for education beyond high school. The annual expo has served as the organization’s largest effort yearly, originally emphasizing college and university options for local high school students and older students.

The college and career fair portion of the event was set up in the 4-H Exhibit Hall, while workshops took place in an adjacent barn.

More than 100 people streamed through the exhibit hall’s doors in the first 20 minutes of the expo, according to a counter on LINK board member Jason Wells’ phone.

Barbara Alder, another board member who joined Wells in welcoming attendees to the expo, said she believes the event is already close to outgrowing the exhibit hall.

“We are thrilled with the number of exhibitors,” she said. “There’s a wide variety of opportunities and a tremendous flow of traffic. Everybody’s busy talking to each other, which is what we want.”

The workshops featured keynote speaker Barb Skinner of Barb Skinner Consulting; Janet White, Hancock County Community Foundation, who spoke about scholarships available in Hancock County and how to apply; Brittany Collins, Commission for Higher Education, who spoke about 21st Century Scholars; and Amy Sosnowski, Strategic College Planning LLC, who spoke about how to write winning scholarship essays and provided tips for admissions applications.

Skinner, who works as a career consultant in Carmel, spoke about how to prepare for college, both the responsibility of getting to class and the financial burden paying for a four-year university places on a student’s life.

She said for students considering their career prospects, the most important things to do are to plan and to develop their work ethic.

“What do you want your life to look like?” she asked the crowd of about 30 people. “Plant those seeds now.”

She encouraged students who are less interested in a four-year college to consider alternatives including community college, earning an associate’s degree or a certificate, apprenticeships or working for a year or two in a meaningful job.

She said it’s OK for high-schoolers heading into college not to know what they want to do with their lives, but added that indecision shouldn’t let them become immobilized by uncertainty. She said those who are still figuring things out should take career assessments, see a career counselor, job shadow, ask questions and talk to their teachers.

A Butler University Basketball Hall of Fame member, Skinner didn’t know what she wanted to do with her life after basketball, either. She said a special person helped her look at her skills in basketball, like making assists, and understand how those could apply to other careers.

“We all have gifts,” she said. “There is something you do well.”