Staff photo by Gage Cureton An eighth-grade student tries on firefighting equipment as New Ulm Fire Department fire fighter Tim Wolf supervises at the 12th annual career expo Wednesday at New Ulm High School. Eighth and tenth-grade students from New Ulm and surrounding schools explored 45 potential careers.

NEW ULM — Eighth and tenth-grade students from New Ulm, Brown County and surrounding area schools explored dozens of potential careers and future educational opportunities at the 12th annual career expo at New Ulm High School Wednesday.

With representatives from 45 unique careers and educational institutions, students had the chance to visit with working professionals to ask questions and gain vital information about future opportunities.

New Ulm Chamber of Commerce President Audra Shaneman said there were plenty of diverse careers or education opportunities for students to explore. She said businesses were interested in speaking with students.

“They bring out their own displays, there are giveaways, so they’re invested in being here,” Shaneman said. “That’s very good support to have 45 businesses here.”

City Councilor Les Shultz said a major reason for holding the career expo for the eighth and tenth-graders is to allow them to begin thinking about possible careers and paths to achieve those career goals.

He said he observed a difference between how students engaged with business representatives. He said most eighth-graders appeared more interested in the displays and activities the booths offered while the tenth-graders were more willing to engage in discussion.

“The eighth-grade group is very young,” Schultz said. “But it’s the concept for the eighth-graders to get them to have an idea of what jobs are out there.”

However, Schultz said some of the younger students were engaging with representatives and asking for information about their careers.

“Some of them are asking great questions,” he said. “A few are already starting to think about what they want to do with their lives. However, the tenth-graders are starting to look at colleges. They’re starting to think about it, so they’re a bit more serious.”

Bill Aufderheide, Human Resources and Safety Manager for M.R. Paving and Excavating, said while the career expo is a way to showcase higher-learning institutions to students, it’s also a means for area businesses to showcase what kind of opportunities are available to students who may want to stay in New Ulm after high school.

“It shows students opportunities in our community that they may not know about,” he said. “There are some good paying jobs here.”

Aufderheide said there are a lot of jobs that don’t necessarily require an extensive or long education.

“For those students who don’t want to go to a college, they can come out into the industry or go to a two-year program and not have so much debt,” he said. “We want to kids to stay in Brown County and New Ulm. That’s the future of our community.”

Schools that sent students to the career expo are: New Ulm Public Schools, Minnesota Valley Lutheran High School, Cathedral High School, River Bend Education District, Sleepy Eye Public Schools and GFW Schools.

Gage Cureton can be emailed at gcureton@nujournal.com.