Students get look at possible future careers

Busloads of area high school juniors and seniors on Wednesday descended on Wright State University-Lake Campus to get a closer look at their possible futures.

The Auglaize Mercer Business Alliance hosted the first day of a career event that allowed students to get answers about real-world careers from area business members.

The event, "Talent Connection Forum" brought in about 700 students for Day One of the event, which continues today. The students were able to visit with professionals representing several different career paths.

"I'm undecided on my major, so I'm just trying to figure out different things, talk to some different people, look at some options and majors and figure out a little bit more of what opportunities are out there," said Michaela Tangeman of Marion Local High School.

"I really wanted to learn about some of the different things that I could do in the future," added Ben Post of Coldwater High School. "I'm really enjoying it, and I'm really learning a lot about some of the different jobs and ways that maybe I can better educate myself to get better positions in the companies."

Randy Hemmelgarn of Stammen Insurance and member of the alliance said the kids have been very engaged in learning more about possible careers and what area business do.

"One of the big values this program is being able to bring about is the kids aren't just hearing things from their teachers, they are able to hear them from the mouths of (people from) businesses that actually work, are owned and operate in this area," he said.

The information gathered by the students can help them determine if they want to go to a four-year university or choose another option.

"It gives them the ability to either graduate high school and go to college, to graduate high school and go into their career with an idea of what opportunities are around here and what the businesses do," Hemmelgarn said. "If they go to a four-year college and get a degree, there are opportunities in that field or with different companies in our area, and we've got to help build that pipeline back to make sure we get good, talented kids back to this area and keep these companies full of talented workers."

Hemmelgarn added the students will be better off seeking answers before they go to college.

Among the local businesses represented on Wednesday were Celina Insurance Group, Crown Equipment Corp., Coldwater Machine Co., 49 Degrees, St. Henry Bank, Marketing Essentials, Buschur Electric, Stammen Insurance, Stroh-Johnson, Garmann Miller, Mercer Landmark, Cooper Farms, Precision Strip, NIDEC Minster, AAP Fort Recovery Industries, Setex Inc., Pax Machine, Celina Moving & Storage, Totally Promotional, VanTilburg Farms Excavating, Tru-Edge Grinding, Miller Textiles, Coldwater Animal Hospital, Coldwater Dental, Community Sports & Therapy, Mercer Health, Stolly Insurance, Thieman Quality Metal Fabrication, Lefeld Implement and Grand Lake Health.
Snowfall delayed the start at many Mercer County schools on Wednesday, but Hemmelgarn said they were fortunate to be able to hold the event with only a few alterations in the schedule.
"We have had some challenges with the weather," he said. "One of the schools, St. Henry, had to come in this afternoon, but through a lot of the schools, we've had a lot of seniors that have come."