Chilton County students had the opportunity to meet with representatives from 35 colleges, every branch of the military, and eight businesses at the College and Career Fair on Sept. 9.

The event was held at the Clanton First United Methodist Church’s Helen E. Parrish Activity Center and was open to all local high school seniors.

Between 550-600 students attended the event and had an hour and a half to meet with prospective schools and employers.

Students spoke with recruiters about all aspects of the post-secondary education process, employment opportunities and military service options.

Organizers with LeCroy Career Technical Center thanked the church for the use of the facility, Chilton County Industrial Development Coordinator Fred Crawford and the Industrial Development Board for donating funds for refreshments that were set up for counselors and participants, and Jack’s and Whataburger for donating foam cups that were used to provide ice water to the seniors as they attended the fair.

Students reported a positive experience, receiving a lot of information from programs available at the various colleges represented and the requirements and cost of those programs.

Lexi Gray, a senior at Chilton County High School interested in nursing programs, said she was excited to hear that she would be eligible for early admission to the nursing school with a CNA Certification that she is pursuing through her health science classes at LeCroy Career Tech Center.

Many students took the opportunity to speak with the military representatives about education benefits through service.

Recruiters said the students had good questions for them and showed a lot of interest in the programs the military had to offer.

Several students came away with applications from some of the businesses and were excited to hear about local job openings and career possibilities with good pay and benefits in our area.

Joshua Johnson said he knew going into the fair that he wanted to pursue a job with Southern Company/Alabama Power.

He said having them there was very beneficial because they took a lot of time with him and answered all his questions, gave him information that he was not aware of, and gave him advice on how to direct his future to best direct his path toward gaining a position with their company.

The seniors noted that the business and college representatives were open to their questions and very knowledgeable about what their school or business had to offer.

Organizers would like to expand the College and Career Fair to include even more participants.

Any organizations that would like to be added to the contact list for future events should contact Kim Benson at kdbenson@chilton.k12.al.us.