On October 10, more than 450 high school students in grades 10-12 from north-central Minnesota will descend onto the campus of Northwest Technical College for “Passport to the Future,” an annual event to showcase the college and potential professional opportunities that await after completing an education.
“Passport to the Future is a career exploration fair that allows students to tour program areas and participate in a variety of hands-on activities,” said Rhonda Bessler, student support coordinator at NTC. “We will have employers in fields related to our programs on hand for students to visit, as well.”
Students will stay at NTC for around two and a half hours, and will arrive at different times throughout the day. After opening with a tour of NTC’s Center for Sustainable Environmental Technologies, students will participate in a series of fun, interactive activities on the main campus involving NTC’s academic programs and participating local businesses.
Some of the hands-on activities include:
• interactive games hosted by the early childhood development program,
• “what is an online class?” presented by the business programs,
• a variety of hands-on activities with the nursing program,
• an introduction to mold-making and casting from the model building program, and
• equipment demonstrations from the automotive departments.
High schools expected to participate in the event are located in Bemidji, Blackduck, Cass Lake-Bena, Kelliher, Northome, Red Lake, Walker and others in the surrounding area.
Participating businesses include Paul Bunyan Communications, Sanford Health, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, the Northwest Small Business Development Center, Affinity Plus Credit Union, Rural Minnesota Continuing Education Program, the U.S. Navy, and Lamb Weston RDO.
For more information, contact Rhonda Bessler, student support coordinator at Northwest Technical College, (218) 333-6615, rhonda.bessler@ntcmn.edu.
About Northwest Technical College
Northwest Technical College, located in northern Minnesota’s lake district, is an open, inviting technological learning organization. For more than 40 years, the college has valued life-long learning and the worth and dignity of all people. Its open-enrollment policy, affordable tuition and high-quality education have attracted a diverse group of learners; today, the College serves more than 1,600 learners. The college offers more than 40 degree programs in areas such as business, health, human and protective services and environmental and industrial technology career programs. Classes are offered on the Bemidji campus, online, or as a combination of both. NTC is a member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system. For more, visit http://www.ntcmn.edu.