VSAC Career and STEM Fairs Open Doors for Young Students

For many young teens, career exploration starts with a simple question: What could you become? The Vermont Student Assistance Corporation (VSAC) aims to answer that by hosting annual Career and STEM Fairs, helping middle school students picture their opportunities in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields and beyond.

Personal Journeys Inspire Career Exploration

LaKysha Patnode, now an information assurance advisor at nuHarbor in Burlington, recalls her own uncertain start at Colchester Middle School and the Center for Technology in Essex. "I wasn’t thinking about college or career paths," she says, until VSAC’s GEAR UP program and its counselors encouraged her to explore and try new things. With that support, she attended Champlain College, earning degrees in computer networking, cybersecurity, and information security.

Presenting at VSAC’s Career and STEM Fair in Lyndon, Patnode offered hands-on lessons about cybersecurity awareness, showing students how to assess app permissions and protect their privacy. "Most kids don’t think about checking the permissions associated with that," she explained, helping students realize the kind of decisions they’ll make in a connected world. Patnode emphasizes the impact such events have: "Opportunities like these career fairs really help. Even if the students don’t realize it, these are the building blocks for moving forward professionally."

Hands-On Learning Sparks Student Engagement

Courtney Skar, school counselor at Montgomery Elementary, sees the fair as a catalyst for career exploration. "Everything at the event is a conversation-starter," she notes, helping students draw connections between their personal interests, skills, and possible careers. This hands-on learning included coding and robotics, medical team scenarios, LEGO racetracks, and building science models. "I had to pull students away from the hands-on parts," she joked, illustrating the high level of student engagement at the fair.

Skar herself benefited from the VSAC’s Talent Search program, which helped first-generation students navigate postsecondary education. Now, she finds fulfillment helping the next generation imagine themselves as adults and future professionals. "When students come back feeling a little more like they can see themselves as their future adult selves, that’s a win," she says.

Engineering Projects Give Students Real-World Experience

At VSAC’s event on the Castleton campus of Vermont State University, close to 400 students joined, including four from Stafford Technical Center led by engineering instructor James Holden. They brought their self-designed mechanical engineering projects—unique bicycles with inventive features such as caster wheels for drifting, hand-pedals, and innovative steering designs. About 170 middle school students tried out these experimental bikes, learning not just about engineering principles, but also seeing what their older peers could achieve. Holden reflects, "When we show the STEM fair attendees that we can offer learning in a different way and with projects kids can really see themselves in, they start to see how they succeed."

Annual Fairs Engage Students Statewide

Nearly 1,200 middle schoolers from 27 Vermont schools participated in this year’s two Career and STEM Fairs in the Northeast Kingdom and Rutland. These events are produced in partnership with Vermont State University, Careers CLiC, the Vermont Department of Labor, and the J. Warren and Lois McClure Foundation, with support from local employers and organizations. The fairs provide vital exposure to career pathways and new ways of learning for students at a formative stage.

Next, VSAC plans to host a virtual career panel for middle school students in November, continuing its commitment to building curiosity, energy, and enthusiasm for future career pathways in Vermont’s youth.

About VSAC and Its Outreach Initiatives

Founded in 1965 by the Vermont Legislature, VSAC is a public nonprofit dedicated to helping Vermont students and their families achieve their education and training goals. The organization works in nearly every Vermont middle and high school, providing tools from college savings (VT529) to outreach programs, scholarships, and career exploration activities like the Career and STEM Fairs.

Source: vtdigger.org.