Northside High School students got a look at a wide range of career opportunities on Friday, as more than 40 local professionals, many NHS alumni, participated in the school’s annual Career Day.

Participating in three rotations, students had the opportunity to learn about local careers in fields ranging from law enforcement and emergency medicine to construction and welding. For NHS school counselor Amber Searcy, Career Day is a great chance to expose students to opportunities close to home.

“Just seeing that local people who grew up right here have gone on to be successful, I think was very powerful,” Searcy said.

Prior to Friday’s event, each student at NHS filled out a survey online indicating his or her top-three career interests. Based on these surveys, students cycled through three rotations in classrooms throughout the school to hear presentations and ask questions.

“We also asked presenters to talk about their career journey, and how they maybe fell into this career and that process,” Searcy said. “We wanted them to be open to some different career prospects. But then, pulling in different people and hearing some different opportunities gets them to think outside the box in what they know.”

Industries/professions represented during the career day included medical, law enforcement, agriculture, dentistry, military, culinary, insurance, engineering, welding, electrical, banking, law, mental health, education, transportation, human resources, pharmacy, ministry, construction, physical therapy, cosmetology, computer science, real estate and accounting, with some fields broken down into specific jobs such as nursing and radiology.

“We were just blown away by all the response we got from all these career presenters,” Searcy said. “We’re just very thankful that they came out and gave time out of their day to do that.”