More than 250 sophomores from Canton, Cuba, Farmington, Havana, and Lewistown attended the annual 10th Grade Career Expo that was hosted by Spoon River College on November 15 at the Canton Campus. More than 46 presenters were on hand to showcase a variety of careers.
The interactive event focused on four main career areas: health care/human and public services; arts and communication; agriculture/food/natural resources; and manufacturing/engineering/logistics.
Informative and entertaining hands-on activities were provided, giving students the chance to bend and press metal, , practice laparoscopic surgery, perform CPR, pitch a business plan, and more. Students also received information on the skills and education needed for the careers.
“The activities really caught the students’ attention, and we appreciate the time and support of the presenters,” said Brandi Ketcham, SRC advisor and event organizer. “Many high school students are still deciding what they want to do, and we hope events like this can help them make that decision.”
On a follow-up survey, more than 75% of the students indicated that the information they received would be valuable as they consider their future careers, and they also felt that they had made some beneficial connections. Being able to talk with different professionals from many different fields as well as learning what specific characteristics were needed for certain jobs was also mentioned as being valuable.
The following career areas and the businesses representing them were:
Health Care Professionals: Canton High School (Athletic Trainer); Carl Sandburg College (Dental Hygiene Program); Graham Health Services (OT/PT Rehabilitation, Imaging, Behavioral Health, Medical Doctor, Nursing Educator, Laboratory Information Systems Analyst, Pharmacist, Clinical Recruiter/Director); and Spoon River College (Medical Lab Technician instructor);
Education, Human and Public Services: Canton YMCA (Daycare program); Fulton-Mason Crisis Service; Fulfill Your Life Destiny Life Coach; Fulton County Emergency Medical Association; Canton Police Department; Illinois State Police; Barnhart, Tinsman, and Parrish, LTD; Special Education Association of Peoria County (Speech/Language Pathologist); and Spoon River College (Early Childhood Education);
Ag/Food/Natural Resources and Manufacturing/Engineering/Logistics: Fulton County Farm Bureau (Educator); Martin Tractor (Recruiter); Spoon River Animal Clinic (Veterinarian and Veterinarian Technician); Illinois River NWFR Complex (Wildlife Refuge Specialist); Cook Medical (Quality Assurance and Quality Control Manager); University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (4-H Youth Development Educator); and Spoon River College (Logistics, Agriculture, Welding, Diesel and Power Systems Technology);
Arts, Communications, Information Technology, Business: MidAmerica National Bank; Canton HyVee (Floral Manager); International Award-Winning Sleight of Hand Artist; Master Naturalist; On-Board Engineer in Charge for NASCAR, NEP Group, Broadcast Sports International; State of Illinois (Court Reporter); and Spoon River College (Art, CIS, Human Resources Director, Human Resources Generalist);
Pictures of the event can be viewed on the Spoon River College Facebook page.