The Hibbing Daily Tribune reports on the recent Tech Fair at Hibbing Community College…

Geared toward high school students in grades 9-12, five area schools participated in the fair that focused on the ways IT interfaces with everyday life, what career options exist in IT, and the education pathways students can take to get to those careers.

“The goal of the Information Technology Fair is to inform and educate our future workers of the many technological career options that exist on the Iron Range,” said Jessie Matvey, HCC marketing/admissions representative.

Organized into four sections, students heard from guest speakers working in technology within their specific industry.

Molly Solberg of MAS Marketing led talks on Technology and Digital Media. A duo from Fairview Range tackled the topic of Healthcare and Technology. HCC instructors shed light on IT Networking and Security.

Maki and Pierce presented on Manufacturing and Technology.

It’s a great opportunity to introduce kids to jobs that they don’t necessarily see daily and didn’t learn about in younger grades when we were all ready about becoming teachers, police of bakers. They told the story of one of the presenters, which I think best describes the opportunity…

 Had Brandy Maki heard the term “engineering” while in high school, her career path may have been more direct than it has been.

“As a teenager, I didn’t have any kind of direction or support. I knew I was interested in math and programming, but there were not many options at my school,” she said. “I

don’t think I had ever heard of an engineer at that age. I didn’t know one even existed. So for these kids to know one what is and does at their age is a big thing.”

Today, Maki is a development engineer at Detroit Reman-DMR Electronics.

The Fair is part of a larger broadband effort…

The IT Fair was part of a larger, technology initiative that the Hibbing Area Chamber of Commerce is leading to make the best use of information and services that high-speed internet can deliver.

Hibbing is one of the Blandin Foundation six Iron Range Broadband Communities (IRBC). Local leaders are working to identify top technology priorities and create projects to address them.