(COLUMBIA, Tenn. - March 31, 2017) - - - More than 600 Maury County high school juniors and seniors were in attendance March 25 for Columbia State Community College's annual Career and Technical Training Fair, held in partnership with Listerhill Credit Union, Tennessee College of Applied Technology in Hohenwald, Maury County Public Schools, the South Central Career Center and McDonald's.

"This year we had new employers and universities to showcase the different college and career paths," said Freda Pillow, Columbia State career counselor. "We hope the students got some useful information from our guests."

The fair featured a variety of department booths from both Columbia State and the TCATs, along with booths sponsored by the Career Center, the Columbia Fire Department, IBEX Global, Maury Regional Medical Center, military branches, four-year colleges and universities and many others.

"I'm here today to get a better perspective of what I want to be," said Kayne Hassell, a junior at Mount Pleasant High School. "I want to go into dentistry - so I really think today is going to help me find what I'm looking for."

Listerhill Credit Union offered two different scholarship opportunities at the fair. Three, $200 book scholarships were awarded to randomly selected students in attendance. The second opportunity was through a video contest - students went into the Listerhill video booth where they had 30 seconds to explain how their education would benefit the community. Through the contest, Listerhill will award one $5,000 scholarship, two $2,500 scholarships and one MacBook Pro giveaway. This contest is running through the Tennessee and Northern Alabama regions - winners will be announced the week of May 1.


Photo Caption: Kayne Hassel and Noah Lightfoot, juniors from Mount Pleasant High School.

Photo Caption: Allyce Robinson, junior at Spring Hill High School, explores a career in teaching at the Columbia State career fair.

Columbia State is a two-year college, serving a nine-county area in southern Middle Tennessee with locations in Columbia, Franklin, Lawrenceburg, Lewisburg and Clifton. As Tennessee's first community college, Columbia State is committed to increasing access and enhancing diversity at all five campuses. Columbia State is a member of the Tennessee Board of Regents, one of the largest higher education systems in the nation. For more information, please visit www.ColumbiaState.edu.

Tennessee's Community Colleges is a system of 13 colleges offering a high-quality, affordable, convenient and personal education to prepare students to achieve their educational and career goals in two years or less. We offer associate degree and certificate programs, workforce development programs and transfer pathways to four-year degrees. For more information, please visit us online at tncommunitycolleges.org.

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