Students had the opportunity to explore a variety of trades and other non-traditional career opportunities Friday in the library at the annual Trade Fair.
“Attending a trade fair is a great way to see what opportunities are out there,” Collin College Nursing representative Amy Wilson said. “Sometimes, it is hard as a high school student to make a decision as to what you want to do for the rest of your life. By attending events like this, students are exposed to lots of different areas that they may have never considered before.”
Taking place from 11:30 a.m. – 2 p.m. in the library, several teachers on campus took their classes to the fair.
“I attended during my English class to explore interesting job opportunities that I could possibly be interested in pursuing in the future, as well as just looking around at the different types of jobs,” sophomore Laura Huang said.
The Trade Fair allowed students to talk to representatives from various businesses, schools, and institutions that offered them opportunities outside of attending college and provided insight into a plethora of unique careers students can pursue.
“[The Trade Fair] has made me more aware of the many types of work in different departments, such as the different paths one can take in the hair, healthcare, and automobile industries,” Huang said.
For sophomore Naya Salamor, the Trade Fair served as a way to interact with professionals in different careers.
“I just talked to a bunch of people,” Salamor said. “I didn’t really see anything I was super interested in, but I did think it was pretty cool.”
The Trade Fair also gave local businesses a chance to recruit students, all the while educating students about the wide variety of opportunities available to them.
“[Trade Fairs] help get the word out. Not only is this exposing the word to other students, but it’s helping with marketing for the company,” Wiggle Butt Academy representative Alexis Middleton said.
Nevertheless, the primary purpose of the Trade Fair was to show students all the opportunities available to them and how going to college is just one possible path they can pursue.
“College can be rigorous, college can be stressful, and having a trade can be just as rigorous without the stress,” Middleton said. “I think it’s a great way for students to kinda find their place in the world. I hope students are able to see just like what other opportunities there are, other than college, and see how wide the horizon is.”