TOWAMENCIN- Lined with tables accompanied by college and career representatives, North Penn High School’s concourse and main gymnasium were transformed on Tuesday, March 7^th to present students, parents, and guardians with the opportunity to experience the revamped college and career fair: Next Steps.

Offered in an afternoon and evening session (1:00-4:00pm students only and 5:00-8:00pm students and families), Next Steps was not only equipped with fifty schools and thirty career representatives in each session, but also four NP programs, Art, Career Apprenticeship, Engineering and Technology, and Business, and four vendors, such as SAT prep or financial aid help.

As the College and Career Counselor at NPHS, Mr. Patrick Brett explained that the high school has always had a great college and career fair; however, Next Steps proved to offer a unique experience.

“We have always had a college fair, but we wanted to bring more of a career aspect into the fair. We want students to understand what types of career opportunities they have and how to get to a specific career or career field,” said Brett.

With over 3,000 students walking through the fair, Brett explained that he hoped they had the opportunity to take advantage of the representatives in attendance.

“I hope that students got a chance to speak with college and career representatives and were able to better understand what career opportunities are available and what colleges or post-secondary institutions could help them get to that career,” stated Brett. “I hope that students saw a benefit in this and it sparked some ideas in their brains about their future.”

Due to a decline over the years in attendance of representatives, students, and parents, Brett explained that the inspiration behind revamping the college and career fair was to increase attendance by offering the experience during the school day and the evening. After a meeting in October with administrators, counselors, and district officials, the event began to unfold.

“As the College & Career Counselor, I was tasked with putting this event together, but I worked with many, many people to make sure the event went as smoothly as possible that everyone who helped needs to be recognized for their efforts,” stated Brett. “I was in constant contact with college representatives and career representatives to make sure that they could come to the event.”

Brett also explained that he received support from and communicated with various departments throughout the building to ensure the event’s success, such as administration, the custodial staff, teachers, the Health and P.E. department, counseling staff, and Ms. Kaity Andrey and Mr. Bob Gillmer.

Andrey, Communications and Development Specialist at the Educational Services Center and Coordinator of Alumni Relations with the NP Alumni Association, explained that Brett reached out to her in October to partner with the Alumni Association. With the goal of pulling from the alumni database, Brett surveyed the NPHS student body to gain a better understanding of which careers interested students.

With the results from that survey, Andrey communicated with her database, and not only did she receive a response from alumni, but also community members.

“I was surprised. I got probably twenty responses within the first day,” explained Andrey. “Especially for something as new and not quite as active as the Alumni Association, that response was so exciting. From there, it just grew… They’re all here just to talk to kids about what they do and how they got there, whether it’s college or a trade school. We do have some community members who have volunteered, too.”

Discussing the importance of NP Alumni communicating with students at Next Steps, Andrey explained that they have the opportunity to take advantage of a special connection.

“A lot of people from the alumni standpoint really want to share, come back to their alma mater, and help kids they can connect with to be successful,” said Andrey. “I think it’s important for the kids, because it’s a little more personal. They can see this person went to North Penn, maybe they’re just like me, maybe someday I can do that. It creates that connection that is a little bit harder to find with a regular community member.”

Thomas Rolón, a NP graduate from the Class of 1979, signed up to serve as a representative from Printing Works, located in Lansdale and explained that his involvement with printing companies first began two weeks before his high school graduation. Because of his desire to give back to the community, Rolón saw Next Steps as a perfect opportunity to share his experience with students.

“I think as diverse as the students are at this school, there are that many jobs out there. Unfortunately, our culture has told our kids that there’s only one idea; you graduate, you work a summer at the pool, you go to college, you get married, you have a career. But, there’s a lot of opportunities,” stated Rolón.

Expanding upon such opportunities, Rolón explained that he hopes students not only realize that there are other options in addition to college, which he did not disqualify, but also be proud of their career path.

“Find something that you’re good at and enjoy doing, and find somebody to pay you to do it. That’s the secret to success,” stated Rolón.