By Tyler Dahlgren

There’s career fairs, and then there’s the Highway 91 Career Fair.

Pride runs thick along the 32-mile stretch of highway connecting the small, charming towns of Humphrey, Leigh, Clarkson, Howells and Dodge. So, too, do opportunities, as evident by the 100 local businesses and organizations that spent last Wednesday with 330 students from five high schools.

“I had no idea what I was walking into,” said Tyler Beranek, who is in his first year as superintendent of the new Lindsay Academy. “When we got here, I was just blown away. It obviously took a lot of collaboration by the planning team, working not only with the schools but with the businesses, and making sure the kids are well-prepared for their interviews and get the best out of the experience.”

Enter the planning team Beranek mentioned, a group of four school counselors who came up with an idea four years ago and ran with it. The Highway 91 Career Fair, born out of a real need for young workers in the area, was an immediate success. It’s grown every year. Now, the planning team is in a full-out sprint.

“Without the collaboration, this wouldn’t be a reality,” said Humphrey’s Cami Oelsligle, the 2024 Nebraska School Counselor of the Year. “It takes all four of us, and it takes a lot of work ahead of time.”

Oelsligle credits Clarkson school counselor Jennifer Kappel for hatching the idea initially. Kappel politely deflects, saying the career fair is a byproduct of feedback the districts were receiving from their communities. 

“They were struggling to find young employees and to keep kids here,” Kappel explained. “We were losing kids to bigger towns, and we wanted to grow our home base.”

Leigh and Howells-Dodge jumped on board, and they set off to do just that. The first career fair, in 2022, was held in Clarkson. Last year’s event was held in Leigh, and this year’s took place in Humphrey. Next year, Howells-Dodge will get a crack at hosting. Sophomores, juniors and seniors attend. Freshmen from the host school take part, too.

“After the first year, we all agreed that this was something that had to continue,” said Oelsligle.

Not only did it continue, but it grew rapidly, a testament to the people in charge of organizing the event.

“It’s taken them a lot of time, and they’ve all been very good about dedicating the hours it takes to organize all of the presenters from year to year,” said Humphrey superintendent Brice King. “They really look at the resources they have and the funding and are great about maximizing that. We’re also thankful that the businesses have not only donated their time and people that can come here and present, but they’ve also donated resources to help feed the kids, too.”

Part of the planning process is reaching out to every business in the vicinity. Students are surveyed on their potential interests, and then sign up for the sessions they’ll attend. The offerings are massive. There’s far too many to list. Just how the planning team likes it.

“They’ve been amazing,” said Kappel. “We are at a point now where we have companies reaching out to us to see if they can be involved in some kind of way.”

The fair took over Humphrey’s two-story building Wednesday. Every classroom held a session, many of them interactive and geared towards peaking a student’s interest.

“There’s a lot of local community members involved today, and I’m just hoping I can make some more connections with them that will benefit me in the future,” said Brianne Kuhr, a senior at Leigh. “I’m thinking about being a pharmacist, so I sat in on the session hosted by CHI Health and that was very beneficial.”

Humphrey senior Alex Renninger came into the day curious. She’s interested in elementary education, and found that session to be more than worthwhile.

“This is just really great,” Renninger said. “It really shows that our schools are trying to help us and they’re putting in extra effort to help us reach our goals.”

Lindsay Academy senior Nicholas Stock took a quick break from his wealth management session with Bank of Lindsay’s Jenny Korth to share his experiences halfway through the fair.

“I came into today excited to see the different job options the world has for us and hoping to take away some idea of what I want to do,” Stock said. “It means a lot to have our principals and our counselors push so hard to help us figure out what we want to do later in life.”

Inside the building, there was an undeniable buzz. Inside the gymnasium, which played host to mock interviews conducted by community professionals, students from the different districts mingled and networked, much like you’d see at any big conference or symposium. 

“It’s just fun to see all the different people,” said Humphrey FCS teacher Kassie Beebe, who donned a t-shirt that read ‘Ask Me!’ and helped guide students from session to session throughout the day. “I sat in on a session and got to learn about construction management, and that’s completely out of my field, so it was fun.”

The event may rotate between school districts, but it’s always held on common ground.

“We go all the way back to old Cornhusker Conference rivalries, and we’re pretty close in proximity,” Kappel said of the bond that runs along Highway 91. “When we need someone to lean on, when we experience a tragedy, these are the people that we’re going to call and ask for help. They just get it.”

Those bonds extend beyond the guidance counselors, said Howells-Dodge’s Jordan Brabec.

“There’s a lot of collaboration that goes on throughout the year, and I think it makes us all stronger,” Brabec explained. “Our administrations are all very close together. It’s just a natural fit for us.”

Any educator’s primary goal, King said, is to open as many doors as possible for students. In three short years, the event has already produced numerous success stories. Graduates who walked off the stage with their diploma and into a solid career.

“The most rewarding thing, when you know you’ve done well, is when you’re on the bus ride home and the kids are just yapping about what they did and who they met,” Kappel said. “Or when teachers are giving you feedback the next day saying, ‘Gosh, the kids will not stop talking about this experience or that experience.’ That’s when you know something went well. That’s why you want to keep doing it.”

Along Highway 91, opportunities abound. And today, they’re all in one place.