Oct. 19 – Thursday and Friday, eighth-grade students from area school districts were able to speak with industry leaders and gain insight into potential careers at a career fair.
The Decatur-Morgan County Chamber of Commerce hosted its annual Endless Opportunities event in Ingalls Harbor, where more than 50 industries spoke to 1,600 eighth-graders about various careers, sparking their interest in some fields they had never explored before.
Students came from Decatur City Schools, Morgan County, Schools, Hartselle City Schools, Lawrence County Schools and private school programs for the two-day career fair. They experienced everything from a simulation of drunk driving on golf carts to hearing technicians describing the operation of a Tesla Cybertruck on display.
Amber Fortenberry, director of talent development and recruitment for the chamber, said they have been hosting the event for more than a decade, giving students the opportunity to explore local jobs and consider possible careers.
“Some teachers send their kids here with assignments to do, to look for specific companies that work in these areas and they flag that,” Fortenberry said. “So they kind of turn it into a classroom assignment, and that way they can have fun and still learn at the same time.”
Many students wore free blue hard hats given to them by Cook’s Pest Control, and Hartselle Junior High student Bruce Landerson got to pet a live, hissing cockroach on display. Landerson said he hopes to one day become a veterinarian.
He and his friends, Cooper Robinson and Hunter Guthrie, lined up to drive golf carts in the parking lot while wearing drunk driving glasses, an event sponsored by the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office. Sheriff Ron Puckett said this is the fifth year they have participated in the career fair and added that these types of activities are eye-opening for young teens as they see the obstacles associated with drunk driving.
“All goggles have different levels of intoxication, so depending on the level of intoxication it really depends on how well they drive,” Puckett said. “It’s educational in a practical sense because they understand that your coordination is off when you’re drunk.”
Hartselle Junior High student Mackenzie Farragher said she developed an interest in architecture after speaking with Fite Building Co. representatives. and she and fellow student Chloe Lybrand discovered a new trick at the Bank Independent booth.
“I learned that you can tell if a $100 bill is counterfeit or not,” Lybrand said. “You can take a flashlight and place it under the bill to see if you can see the Benjamin Franklin watermark or not. That way you know it’s real if you can see it.”
Technicians from AMP Quality Energy Services were there with their Cybertruck and several students gazed at the interior in awe while also watching how a Van de Graaff generator produces electricity.
“We just want them to know that there are multiple things, whether it’s us or someone else,” says Brian Rodgers, founder and owner of AMP. “What our big story is for high school students is that you don’t necessarily have to have a four-year degree to do well in the field. We have a path where in five years you can make $100,000 a year and we will do that .” give you on-the-job training.”
Tavis Ewing of Alabama’s Mountains Rivers and Valleys Resource Conservation and Development Council was there to discuss agricultural careers with students and explain to them that there are several career options in agriculture other than farming.
“Whether it’s biology, chemistry, business or marketing, they all have different opportunities in the agricultural world,” Ewing says.
Fortenberry said one of the main goals of these events is to help school districts increase college and career readiness.
“We want to spark interest in a kid who may not have heard of some of the careers here,” Fortenberry said.
– wesley.tomlinson@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2442.
