EVERETT — The Comcast Arena at Everett Events Center was mobbed Tuesday, but it wasn’t for a sporting event.
An estimated 1,500 students from a number of local school districts wandered the arena floor looking for information to help plan their college or career futures.
The Boeing Co. was there. So was the Army, Navy, Air Force, National Guard and Marine Corps. The Everett Police Department had a booth. So did the Washington State Patrol. Most of the colleges and universities in Washington state had representatives there to answer questions, as did colleges from many other states.
Elizabeth Werner of Kamiak High School and her mother, JoAnne Werner, walked the aisles on the lookout for college information.
“It’s nice to actually talk to a person instead of doing research online,” said Elizabeth Werner, who is interested in psychology.
Asked why, she said: “I’ve always been interested in why people do the things they do.”
Lindsay Ackerman and her mother, Susan Ackerman, were also there to gather college information.
Lindsay Ackerman was interested in business courses, particularly an e-commerce program.
The massive career fair was a joint project with the Everett School District and the Snohomish County Workforce Development Council. The idea is to match students up with people they can speak with to get direct information about job or college possibilities.
Five school districts bused students to the program during school hours. Other students came after school.
Cathy Feole, of the Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties, said there was a lot of interest in building-related careers among boys and girls.
“We got a lot of young women,” she said, adding she was interested in the level of detail in some of the questions.
“Some wanted to know what they needed to know to flip a house,” she said of the technique of buying and selling a home quickly for a substantial profit. “They were asking about a lot of related careers … banking, mortgages. I like the way they’re thinking about how this fits into their world. It wasn’t just a mad grab for anything.”
Reporter Mike Benbow: 425-339-3459 or benbow@heraldnet.com.
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