Piney Woods Career Fair to Introduce Learners to Careers Across Industries

The Piney Woods School is expanding opportunities for career exploration through a school-led Career Fair designed to help learners make informed decisions about their futures. Scheduled for Wednesday, October 28, 2026, from 9:00–11:45 a.m., this initiative will connect students with professionals, education providers, and career resources across a range of industries.

The fair reflects Piney Woods’ commitment to preparing learners for life beyond high school. By introducing careers students may not yet know exist—and explaining the steps needed to pursue them—the school aims to help learners connect their interests with possibilities in college, career training, internships, and meaningful work.

A future in cybersecurity, banking, public safety, or a skilled trade may begin with a single conversation. On Wednesday, October 28, 2026, from 9:00–11:45 a.m., The Piney Woods School will host a Career Fair to help learners explore those possibilities and understand how to pursue them.

The fair will bring together professionals, education providers, and career resources to introduce learners to opportunities they may not yet know exist. The goal is to give students access to that knowledge before they leave high school, helping them make informed decisions about college, career training, internships, and their futures.

Exploring a Broad Range of Opportunities

Confirmed participants reflect several pathways into professional life. Chase Bank will represent the financial sector, while Tougaloo College’s cybersecurity program will introduce a technology-focused field. Hinds Community College’s workforce program and Executive Barber Academy will help broaden learners’ understanding of career training and skilled professions.

Representatives from the U.S. Army, Marine Corps, and Navy are also confirmed, alongside participants listed from the fire academy, sheriff’s department, and Federal Bureau of Prisons in Yazoo. These connections will give learners opportunities to ask about service, public safety, and the preparation those fields require.

Additional confirmed participants include Jackson State University Online, the Mississippi REALTOR Institute, and Get2College, adding perspectives on higher education, real estate, and college planning.

Together, these organizations will help learners see how different interests can lead to a variety of careers—and how the preparation for those careers can take different forms.

Understanding the Steps Behind a Career

The fair is designed to move beyond job titles. Participating professionals will be asked to explain what they do, how they entered their fields, what education or training is required, and what opportunities exist within their industries.

Learners will be encouraged to ask questions that connect those experiences to their own goals: What skills should they develop? Which courses or credentials might they need? What can they begin doing now?

By making career pathways more understandable, these conversations can help learners connect their interests with practical next steps.

Building Connections That Support Our Learners

Planning and outreach continue, with additional invitations extending into healthcare, agriculture, engineering and construction, media, education, and community service. The range of organizations being contacted reflects the school’s intention to expose learners to both familiar professions and less familiar opportunities.

For participating professionals, the fair offers a meaningful way to invest in young people by sharing firsthand knowledge. For learners, it creates access to people whose experiences can inform their choices and expand their sense of what is possible.

The Career Fair puts Piney Woods’ education of the Head, Heart, and Hands into practice: connecting classroom learning, individual interests, and preparation for meaningful work. Through these experiences, our school community and supporters help learners approach life beyond high school with greater knowledge and direction.

Get Involved

The Piney Woods School welcomes organizations, businesses, agencies, and professionals interested in participating in the Career Fair and helping our learners explore the many possibilities available beyond the classroom. By sharing your expertise, career pathways, and professional experiences, you can help learners make meaningful connections between their education, interests, and future goals.

For more information about the Career Fair or to have your organization participate, please contact aedwards@pineywoods.org.

Together, we are connecting our learners with future possibilities and preparing them to lead with Head, Heart, and Hands.

Participating organizations are subject to change as planning continues.