When Lawrence County high school students graduate, they will have a choice of whether they want to stay or leave the area.
The main goal of the Lawrence County Business & Industry Career Fair is to highlight all of the educational and work opportunities for students in the county.
“There is plenty of opportunity here in Lawrence County,” said Coy Price, the operations manager of Keystone Compliance.
The fair, in its 16th year, was held Thursday at the Scottish Rite Cathedral in New Castle. It is organized by Lawrence County School-to-Work.
The event allows 10th-grade students to hear from young business professionals and individuals representing different skilled trade companies in Lawrence County.
Sophomores from the eight Lawrence County school districts, the Lawrence County Career and Technical Center and the Riverside School District in Beaver County attended the event.
The students first heard from a panel of young business professionals on why they live and work in Lawrence County, their favorite things about the county and who were their influences or mentors.
The panelists were Visit Lawrence County’s Ginny Jacob Colella, state Rep. Marla Brown’s (R-9) district office manager Jaclyn Thompson, New Castle Fire Department firefighter Marco Bulisco, Price and New Castle Public Library Director Andrew Henley.
All five panelists graduated high school in Lawrence County, and all five have either remained or chose to come back to the county to live and work.
“Why would I leave? All what I want is here in Lawrence County,” Thompson said.
All five panelists said there are career options in Lawrence County.
Price said students, who don’t want to go to college, can go straight to work making a good living like him in one of the many skilled trade companies in the county.
The panelists said the county is more affordable to live in than other areas, is close to major cities like Pittsburgh, has beautiful nature areas like McConnells Mill State Park and is a “melting pot” of different cultures and heritages.
“We really have a great sense of community and an opportunity to get involved,” Colella said.
All five panelists also said they love the variety of food in Lawrence County, from Italian and Mexican to Middle Eastern.
“I have yet to find better Middle Eastern food than in New Castle,” Henley said.
Following the panel, the students visited a “Hall of Careers” of 36 businesses, schools, organizations, law enforcement and the military. Each one had an activity and/or presentation.
Adam VanTassel and Rachelle Giering from Union Township-based Pyrotecnico said there are plenty of opportunities for long-term careers in the county.
New Castle Fire Department Chief Mike Kobbe said he has stayed in Lawrence County his entire life for the diversity of people, food and entertainment, as well as the sense of family and neighborhood bonds that are formed.
“We’ll pick on each other, but don’t pick on us,” Kobbe said.
New Castle sophomores Brody Young, Ashton Sipe and Paul Malley said they like the diversity of the county and the education they receive. They hope to become a meteorologist, mechanic and law enforcement officer, respectively.
They said staying or leaving the county depends on what opportunities are placed in front of them.
“There could be many good things (here) if you choose the right thing,” Young said. “We’re going to see what God has in store for me.”