Shelbie Hanson is already thinking about what she wants to do when she graduates from high school.

The 15-year-old Post Falls High School freshman was able to speak with practicing professionals to get a sense of what it takes to be an artist at the first College-to-Career showcase.

"It was very helpful," Hanson said. "This helps to know about careers and it gets us prepared. I also talked to some detectives and it was really interesting how they are able to help people solve their problems. There are so many career choices to choose from."

Hanson was one of more than 200 high school and college students who attended the College-to-Career Showcase on Wednesday at North Idaho College. The event was sponsored by IdahoGOES, a consortium of five higher education institutions in North Idaho.

"It was awesome to talk to these professionals," said Rachel Souza, a Post Falls High School senior. "It was way different than reading about careers online."

More than 70 community members volunteer to represent their career fields, including archeology, veterinary technician, firefighting, accounting, business management, law enforcement, dietician, teaching, environmental science, communications, and health care professions.

"I spoke with a lot of students about social work programs, what exactly we do, and about licensing," said Katie Stillinger, the shelter manager at the North Idaho Violence Prevention Center. "I wish I had something like this when I was going to school."

Kayne Ruth, a senior at Post Falls High School, was able to eliminate some career options after speaking with people working in the field.

"I don't want to be a probation officer, or a firefighter," Ruth said. "I am going to focus on being a diesel mechanic. I learned a lot today."

Sen. John Goedde attended the event along with Kootenai County Sheriff-elect Ben Wolfinger and state Representative-elect Luke Malek attended and spoke with students about the law and public service.

North Idaho College, Lewis-Clark State College, University of Idaho, Boise State University and Idaho State University are the members of the IdahoGOES consortium.

For more information, contact Marc Stewart (208) 292-2684 or visit idahogoes.org

Marc Stewart is a spokesman for Lewis-Clark State College.