COEUR d'ALENE — Light bulbs were lighting up Wednesday morning as Canfield Middle School eighth grader Devon Flores toyed with an electrical panel, aided by Western States Caterpillar technician-in-training Brady Rapp.

Rapp demonstrated how to illuminate the bulbs, then encouraged Devon to do the same after the wires were unplugged and rearranged.

"It seems like the kids have genuine interest, and even the ones that walk up and just want candy, you can teach them something new," said Rapp, who was one of about 45 vendors participating in the Post Falls Chamber's inaugural Unlock Your Future North Idaho career planning event at the Kootenai County Fairgrounds.

Devon was quite pleased once he found the right order to run the wires. He said he is interested in possibly attending Kootenai Technical Education Campus when he's in high school to get a jump on a trade career.

"I like the construction jobs because you can do it and get paid for it while you're in school," he said. "That's pretty cool."

About 1,100 eighth graders from area middle schools cruised through the Jacklin Building and engaged with professionals from a variety of sectors, picking up swag and playing carnival games as they learned about careers in health care, law enforcement, insurance, banking, manufacturing, education and more.

Lakeland Middle Schoolers Clara Stoffer and Lasalette Thompson stopped to snap a photo with Smokey Bear.

Lasalette, who wants to be a lawyer, said she was captivated by the first responders conducting CPR demonstrations at the event.

"I think it's cool and you learn a lot," she said. "I didn't know that firefighters had to give CPR."

Avery Johnson, member account specialist with Horizon Credit Union, said he enjoyed engaging with the students and informing them about benefits to banking with a credit union.

"I'm liking the questions we're getting, and I enjoy helping people out so helping people figure out what they want to do for work is really fun," he said. "It's nice to be able to say, 'Hey, this is what I do for work.' I enjoy what I do for work, so walking them through what I enjoy doing is pretty fun."

Lakeland eighth grader Kapree Stutheit, who wants to go into cosmetology, was one of the students who stopped and visited with Johnson about credit unions.

"I learned that 2-year-olds can open bank accounts," she said.

Modeled after an event of the same name held in Spokane Valley, the Post Falls Chamber's Unlock Your Future was the first to be held in North Idaho.

As of July 1, 2023, the state of Idaho began requiring seventh and eighth grade public school students to complete career exploration courses aligned to the First Steps Standards. These include self-evaluation, career planning and future exploration.

Post Falls Chamber President and CEO Christina Petit said Unlock Your Future aligns with that curriculum to set students on the path to fulfil those requirements.

"You can see the engagement level," Petit said. "They're all going to go home with a booklet that has a list of all of the vendors and QR codes to the vendors' websites so they can have conversations with their parents, and the schools are going to follow up and use that booklet for curriculum to help with their four-year plans."

    Post Falls Police Capt. Jason Mealer demonstrates for Lakeland Middle School eighth grader Mikayla Turner how to use a gas mask as they participate Wednesday in the Unlock Your Future career planning event at the fairgrounds.
  

    Northwest Specialty Hospital marketing and creative manager Trent Emerson engages Wednesday morning with Timberlake Middle School eighth grader Bradley LaFortune during Unlock Your Future North Idaho at the Kootenai County Fairgrounds. About 1,100 students and 45 vendors participated in the inaugural event.
  

    Lakeland eighth graders Clara Stoffer, left, and Lasalette Thompson stop for a photo Wednesday with Smokey Bear at the Unlock Your Future North Idaho career planning day.