The first annual STEAM Career Fair took place on Friday, November 13th. There were 225 students in attendance from grades 9-12 for this in-house field trip. The event provided participants with plenty of opportunities to speak with professionals and ask questions about their careers.

There were hands-on demonstrations taking place all day in the technology wing. These allowed students to try out various tasks that are involved in different careers.

In addition, there were three panel discussions in which students received a lot of great advice from experienced representatives who shared how they transitioned from high school into their careers. Students were able to discover how they can better prepare themselves for technical jobs while in high school, such as by shadowing or internships. Professionals also told students what qualities they look for when hiring employees.

Overall, the event was very interesting and informative. The response from the students was overwhelmingly positive and Alden is looking forward to more STEAM Career Fairs in the future.

We are grateful to the following companies and educational partners for participating to make this event possible:

• 43North – Director of Events and Programming
• Allegany Educational Systems – Regional Sales
• Daemen College – Animation/Gaming Dept.
• Danforth – Engineer
• ECC Architecture Technologies – Architect, professor
• ECC Biomanufacturing – Professor
• ECC Civil Engineering & Construction – Department Chair
• ECC Computer Repair & Electronics – Department Chair
• ECC Industrial Technology – Department Chair
• Erie County Sheriff’s Deputy – SRO – Bomb Squad
• Expressed Impressions – Jewelry Design
• Graham Mfg. – Human Resources
• Graham Mfg. – Welder
• Greatbatch Medical – Human Resources
• Greatbatch Medical – Sr. Mgr. Engineering
• Greatbatch Medical – Intellectual Property
• Greatbatch Medical – Manufacturing Engineer
• Green Buffalo Fuel – CEO
• Haskell Instructional Technologies – Sales
• Lancaster Knives – Human Resources
• Materion – Process Engineer
• MOD-PAC Corp. – Packaging Design, Marketing, Advertising
• MOOG – Engineering Manager
• MOOG – Product Engineer
• NYS Center of Excellence – Bioinformatics & Life Sciences
• Orchard Park HS – Technology Teacher
• Pine Valley MS/HS – Guidance Counselor
• Pioneer Schools – Director of Curriculum & Instruction
• Programmable Equipment – Owner/Engineer
• Reality Works – Sales-Virtual Welding
• Sharp Tooling – V.P. Manufacturing
• Siemens Industry – Manufacturing
• Solar City – Human Resources
• UB Comp. Sci. Engineering – Professor
• Ventovate – Automation & Chemical Engineering R&D
• NCCC Manufacturing and Design – Professor
• Buffalo State College Technology Education – Professor