On Tuesday, January 17, Fossil Ridge High School hosted a Poudre School District wide career exploration night for students and their families. Professionals in 40 different fields presented information about their jobs and the steps that students should take in high school to prepare for the future. There was a broad range of information about professions from graphic design to plumbing, athletics to physicians. However, the two most popular sessions of the night were those for tattoo artistry and FBI agents.

Diane Campbell, a career counselor at Fossil, explained that the fair was designed “to help students at any age start thinking about career areas that they might not otherwise know about.” Campbell also said that the fair was organized around the Colorado career cluster model, which helps students to identify potential paths in their future.

Most students who attended on Tuesday night already had a basic idea of what they wanted to pursue after high school. Andrew Raison, a junior at Fort Collins High School, knows that he wants to go into machining, specifically making car parts. This was the first career event he has attended in PSD, and he hoped to find out what steps he would need to take to reach his ideal job. Raison agreed that the presenters “did talk a lot about some resources that would be useful to him this year.”

Petty Officer Burton believes that the two main groups of students who should consider the United States Navy are those who need assistance paying for college or those who aren’t ready to commit to more school right away. She found the Navy to be a place “to get money for college, but also to have a career and a chance to mature before you’re kicked out into the real world.” She loves her recruiting job because it gives her a chance to change lives, to guide teenagers who might be feeling overwhelmed by their options into a family that will support them. Burton is also a trained nuclear electrician.

Kate Delaney, a sophomore at Fossil, knows that she wants to enter an engineering field, though she did find the FBI career enticing. She also attended the college fair at Poudre High School in September of 2016. Her hopes for the night were to narrow her options, because engineering is a very broad field. Delaney was able to attend a session about 3D printing and design, and though she says “it wasn’t really my thing,” she did appreciate the opportunity to check out something new. She will continue attending events like this because she feels fortunate to attend a school that provides so many options to help her figure out where she’s going.

An elementary school teacher, Suzette Youngs is also part of a club called Creating Future Teachers. Many high schools in Colorado offer a teaching cadet program, in which teachers like Youngs visit with students to help them decide what age and subject they would best fit. The number of teachers has dropped significantly in the last few years, and many believe that that’s due to students having very high pressures placed on them from a young age. They are expected to make a high salary to provide for a family, and are steered away from very rewarding jobs like teaching. Youngs says that teenagers should consider teaching because “there’s no better moment than to work with kids, and to see them grow. They come to their own conclusions, they start to understand how the world works. You’ve created that environment for them.”

There’s plenty of opportunities for students here at Fossil to explore their passions and get advice from experts. If you couldn’t make it to this career exploration night, or you want more information about any post-secondary chances, head to Fossil’s College and Career center. Also, on Monday, January 30, there will be a presentation in the Performing Arts center for juniors about the college application process.