At this point, students have talked about future careers, and most know what they want. On March 4, 2025, Cannon Falls hosted its third Southeast Minnesota College, Career, and Job Fair during school hours from 9 AM to 1 PM. This fair was a great opportunity for students to learn more about careers and to meet people who have been in and are in those careers. 

Our school and others experienced this event. Grades 8th to 12th were allowed to participate in Cannon Falls, but for other schools, only high school was allowed. “This is primarily for HS students, but since we host it, students in grades 8-12 have the opportunity to participate,” said Principal Tim Hodges. This was the eighth graders’ first career fair,  so when Camryn Huebsch was asked what he wanted to learn, he said he was “Particularly interested in learning more about careers.” Hodges stated, “This year, there will be over 100 vendor booths. Last year, we had over 1500 students from southeast  Minnesota schools in attendance during the day.” 

Just a few of the booths set up in the field house were from St. Cloud State, Hamline Southeast, U of MN Duluth, U of MN Crookston, Rochester Fire Dept, Rochester Police Dept, Army ROTC, Olmsted Medical Center, Henkel, People’s Energy, Midwest Machinery, Minnesota State Southern Agriculture  Center of Excellence, and so many more. Some vendors had presentations, some had information for the students to take with them, and others had demonstrations. The fieldhouse setup started on Monday, March 3, after school. Students were encouraged not to park their vehicles in the parking lot near the field house, as vendors planned to use that space for parking. There was also a survey that students planning to attend filled out. 

Cannon Falls is very lucky to be able to host this event. This is not just about learning more about careers but finding a person’s future career, meeting people associated with it, and for some, experiencing it.