CANFIELD, Ohio -- Emily Moon, a senior at the Mahoning County Career & Technical Center, says that her high school science-based curriculum has helped her decide on what she'd like to do after graduation.

"I'm in biotech, so I'm going into the medical field," Moon said. "There are a lot of opportunities in nursing right now."

She and other students at MCCTC received a sample of the opportunities that await them in post-secondary education or training at the 15th annual College and Trade Fair held at the school Tuesday.

Moon saw it as a chance to talk to representatives from several nursing schools among the many vendors who set up in the Joyce E. Brooks Conference Center.

"Salem's nursing school is here, and we were just talking to Clarion University and they have a nursing school," she said. Moreover, she noted that it's important to explore the availability of grants and scholarships to help further her education.

"I just started applications for scholarships and stuff, trying to find all the opportunities for all the money I could get," she said.

The colleges and universities in the region, military recruiters, as well as schools that specialize in cosmetology, nursing, agriculture, maintenance and the trades, see this as an opportunity to attract students who have expressed some degree of interest in pursuing a career in these fields of study, said Jackie Huffel, a principal at MCCTC.

"We allow our students to go in and talk to post-secondary representatives from the different area schools," Huffel said. "We have over 50 vendors here."

All 684 students were expected to participate in the event, Huffel noted.

"We put it out to their instructors so they can see what related pathways are going to be here," she said. "If you are in the trades, the different apprenticeship programs are here. For those in health care, we probably have 10 representatives that are in health care."

Deb Baker, a representative of the Hannah E. Mullins School of Practical Nursing in Salem, says that students directly out of high school can enroll in the program and finish in 11 months as a licensed practical nurse, or LPN.

"It's a very valuable first step" for those pursuing a registered nurse degree, she noted.

While regional and local institutions such as Youngstown State University, Eastern Gateway Community College and Kent State University were present, other schools from as far away as Toledo and Clarion, Pa., attended the fair Tuesday.

Colin Binkley, manager of corporate programs at Owens Community College, Toledo, was busy pitching that school's tech programs associated with John Deere and Caterpillar equipment. "It's a popular program," he said. "You can learn to become a John Deere and Caterpillar technician," he added.

Huffel added that MCCTC makes sure that educators spend ample time counseling students on the various careers and how to achieve their goals.

"That's another big piece for our kids," Huffel said. "We try to show kids there are opportunities and that it's not 'one and done' -- that there's a big world out there and lets find the pathway and lets guide you."

Copyright 2014 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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