More than 1,300 high school sophomores from 18 different school districts will attend the Student Career Exploration Expo on Friday, November 8, 2019, on the campus of MN State College Southeast.

The Career Exploration Expo highlights careers in manufacturing, health and human services, transportation, civil service, business services, multimedia communications, retail, education, building trades, agriculture and more. The event is held in a trade-show like environment with hands-on, interactive exhibits. Nearly 75 area businesses will be participating, along with Winona State University, Saint Mary’s University and Minnesota State College Southeast.

Participating schools will arrive in throughout the day, beginning at 9 a.m. and concluding at 2 p.m. Participating schools include Arcadia, Caledonia, Cochrane-Fountain City, Chatfield, Cotter, Holmen, Hope Lutheran, Houston, La Crescent, Lanesboro, Luther, Mabel-Canton, Red Wing, Rushford-Peterson, SAIL, Wabasha-Kellogg, Winona, and Zumbrota-Mazeppa.

The Student Career Exploration Expo is an initiative of the Winona Area Chamber of Commerce Business Education Network, or B.E.N. The purpose of B.E.N. is to develop the community’s future workforce by providing students with a deeper understanding of career opportunities and aligning skills with current workforce needs; engaging employers directly with students, education and training providers; and better aligning programs and curriculum to the realities of the Minnesota economy.