Alpena, MichiganLocal Weather Alerts
There are currently no active weather alerts.

Area students get a glimpse into future career opportunities

(Photo Courtesy/Mike Beiermeister) Students received hands on opportunities to learn about different career paths.

Onaway, Mich. — Students from 22 area schools in northern Michigan made their way to Industrial Arts Institute to learn about future careers that they can pursue.

The organization Michigan Works! Northeast Consortium hosted their first ever MICareerQuest Northeast event. It’s the largest, one-day career exploration for high school and middle school students throughout the area. Over 1,000 students browsed through different areas of work like health care, manufacturing, technology, and construction.

Demonstrators had plenty of hands-on activities for the students to test out.

“It’s like trying to find something to do for college and stuff,” said Cheboygan Area Schools eighth grader Zander Ferguson. “Trying to find what to do when you are out of high school and stuff.”

“It’s very beneficial because it teaches students what their options are ahead of time after they graduate or for their jobs and what they can go to college for,” said Cheboygan Area Schools eighth grader Lia Basanese.

With over 200 working professionals from the area participating, the kids had plenty of options to check out. Michigan Conservation Officer Duane Budreau enjoyed showcasing what his field of works has to offer.

“Anytime we get interest from our young people, it’s important that we can share that with them,” said Budreau. “Not only the fun and excitement of the job but the honor it carries, it’s a good job with a great purpose, so it’s good to be able to spread that message.”

High school students could also showcase clubs and activities that can help prepare younger students for the future like robotics.

“I think that the things that we have to do in robotics happen a lot in the workplace, so you have to figure stuff out for yourself,”  “Not everything is simple equations and stuff like that, there is problems that you have to solve, so it really deals with real life applications that we learn in robotics.”

Students from 11 different counties attended today’s festivities. Organizers hope to bring the event back next year.