Murray, NEB- On Wednesday, March 2, Conestoga Jr./Sr. High School hosted a college and career fair. During this fair, students went to booths in the gym that had representatives from different colleges like Doane, Kansas State, UNL, etc. They also had some career reps. At these booths, representatives told students about things their college or career offered. The students then went to classrooms to listen to guest speakers talk about their jobs. The point of college and career day is to get students to start thinking about what colleges they might attend and what career they might pursue.

There were 17 classrooms that hosted different speakers. The speakers included Kara Habrock, Marcus Lind, Joe Baker, Derek Bird, Jennifer Harrison, Lauren Stohlmann, Rowdy Woodard, Nate Wragge, Matt Watson, Ben Larsen, Walters and Culberston, Dan Witte, Robert Everett, Miki Dorn, Greg Page, Jim Drake, Mrs. Keene and Mrs. Tonkin. The careers they talked about ranged from Cybersecurity to Psychiatric Nursing, B103 Radio and many more.

Students enjoyed learning new things about life after high school. Some feel that it has helped them to start preparing for their future. John M. said, “They can talk about their career or college, but they also give a lot of down-to-earth life advice… There was a general sense that a lot of them were just there to help us succeed.” This event helped students see affordable, close and interesting colleges that they could go to. It also showed them successful careers they could have right here in Nebraska. Morgan M. stated, “I liked learning about different jobs because in high school we are only ever exposed to one career and that is teaching.” Students also learned about jobs that give out good benefits and will help pay for college.

This event was organized by Tracy Morton, the Conestoga Jr./Sr. High librarian, and a group of teachers. “Our first year was in Feb. of 2020. We had about 14 speakers and 30 booths. This year, there were 40 colleges/career booths and 19 speakers,” said Morton. They invited colleges that were at the Plattsmouth college career fair. The school does this to help students explore life post high school and to help bring their future to them.

Overall, college and career day has helped students begin to plan their future. It has also given community members a chance to show off their cool jobs. Maybe one day current students will be back as the guest speakers talking about their jobs and how they started.