Golden Apple: Career Day at CLC Gives High School Students Hands-on Experience

Nearly 2,000 students from high schools all across central Minnesota filed into Central Lakes College in Brainerd last week for the 18th annual Career Exploration Day.

Arranged through CLC and the Brainerd Lakes Chamber of Commerce, the event hosted 26 high schools from as far away as Henning. Students got the opportunity to see what career pathways are possible.

“Today is one of our favorite days of the year,” said Central Lakes College President Hara Charlier. “Students have a hard task ahead of us. They’re asked often, ‘What do you want to do?’ That’s a really hard question to answer and today, they get to wander around and not just see things, but put their hands on things, which is really important to us. It’s a commitment from the community and it’s very fun.”

With more than 150 business representatives in attendance and over 100 volunteers helping out, students had plenty to sink their teeth into.

“Every business, every industry in our area is looking for [a] talented work force,” Brainerd Lakes Chamber of Commerce President Matt Kilian said. “With every business, you either reach out and try to recruit new customers, or you keep the ones you have. And that’s what this event is about. There’s lots of different career paths and opportunities here in the Brainerd Lakes Area, and they just need to reach out and explore these businesses.”

Every career station offered kids information on fields like medicine, law enforcement, and videography while also giving them the chance to get a hands-on experience.

“From the very beginning, the idea was to excite young people about some of these careers, which doesn’t really happen if you’re just providing information,” explained Charlier. “The idea is just to allow kids to experience careers so that when they have those decisions to make, there’s this tangible experience that can help them make their decisions.”

Whether students have already committed a potential career path or simply want to know what routes they’re interested in, the Career Exploration Day is designed to hopefully show that there’s something for everyone.

Charlier said, “I heard some students who had just finished welding saying, ‘I could weld.’ We just want them to come away with that hope for the future.”

“Keep an open mind. Explore when you’re here,” Kilian added. “Even if they don’t know exactly what they want to do, if they know what they don’t want to do, that’s still narrowing it down and that’s super valuable.”

Sourcewell also provided help in putting the event together.