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The University of North Georgia (¹ú²ú×ÔÅÄ) partnered with the and Vision 2030 to host its fifth annual Career Path Fair at ¹ú²ú×ÔÅÄ's Gainesville Campus on March 16-17.

This was the first time in the five years of the event that Dr. Steven Smith, ¹ú²ú×ÔÅÄ vice president of regional campuses, was able to be a part of the planning.

"I was excited to see the impact that this access had for the seventh-graders," Smith said. "I feel that you can't start early enough to have students start to focus on where their career path is going to be."

Smith shared that having experienced a similar situation growing up allowed him to realize the value of going to college. He hopes the fair will allow students to formulate an idea of which direction they would like to go.

"Our original group of seventh-graders are now high school seniors. We hope now they're thinking of college and ¹ú²ú×ÔÅÄ," Shannon Shockley, administrative assistant to vice president of regional campuses, said.

Students from Cherokee Bluff Middle School, World Language Middle School, Virtual Program of Choice, C.W. Davis Middle School and East Hall Middle School have access to almost a dozen career paths including agriculture, audio-visual and graphics, business, computer science, construction, cosmetology, education, health science, hospitality, law and government, manufacturing and STEM, marketing, and transportation.

Their day started with keynote speaker Jon Burkett, an agent for Farm Bureau Insurance. Burkett, originally from Cleveland, Georgia, attended Liberty University, where he graduated summa cum laude with a business degree and a cognate in professional sales and marketing. 

About 875 students participated in the two-day Career Path Fair, marking the workforce development event's biggest and best year yet. The very fact alone has left many including Shelley Logan, vice chair of Hall County's Vision 2030 Education Committee, excited for what's to come.

"This was hundreds of students, educators and businesses all taking the time to create a vision for their future," Logan said. "We are so appreciative of ¹ú²ú×ÔÅÄ's partnership, leadership and commitment to open their doors to their future students."