New Ulm Area Career Expo

Employers, businesses showcase opportunities for students

By KEVIN SWEENEY Journal Editor
NEW ULM — Who knew Career Day could be so much fun?

The first New Ulm Area Career Expo brought over 400 sophomore class students from New Ulm and Sleepy Eye together with 64 New Ulm employers and businesses Wednesday at the New Ulm Civic Center.

Instead of students getting boring talks in a classroom from business people on what it’s like to be a doctor or a lawyer or heavy equipment operator, the Civic Center took on a trade show look. Exhibitors brought interesting hands-on activities that demonstrate what their business is all about.

Some students got to be roving reporters for The Journal, donning a fedora with a “Press” card in the band and wandering about taking pictures. Their efforts can be viewed on The Journal’s CU site (cu.nujournal.com).

Others sat in a chair, operating the controls of a backhoe while on a large television screen, a computer-generated bucket dug down into a hole and dumped dirt into a waiting dump truck.

Some recorded ID announcements for KNUJ Radio, others tried some experiments from Minnesota Valley Testing Labs.

Local banks banded together with an exhibit where students stood in an enclosed booth that blew coupons around for them to grab. They could redeem the coupons for prizes.

The two-hour event may not have provided an in-depth look into careers for the sophomores, but it did expand their views of what kind of career opportunities exist in the area.

“It was an eye opener for some of our students,” said Janet Fredrich, a teacher and advisor at Minnesota Valley Lutheran High School. “They said, ‘I didn’t know there was a company that made boats in New Ulm!’ after seeing the Palm Beach Marinecraft exhibit.”

That reaction was the goal of organizers. Lisa Portner, a member of the Expo planning committee, said at a Rotary meeting last week that she sees too many comments in high school yearbooks saying one of the good things about graduating “is being able to get out of New Ulm.” The Career Expo is intended to expose students to the variety of career opportunities that do exist here, in hopes they will come back after college.

The New Ulm Career Expo was modeled after similar events in Mankato and Marshall. It is organized by the New Ulm Chamber of Commerce, the Blandin Group, Bridging Brown County, Junior Achievement, the Sleepy Eye Chamber of Commerce and the New Ulm Personnel Association.