WOOD COUNTY, Ohio — Hundreds of parents and students showed up to explore future careers and learn about available programs in manufacturing, healthcare, information technology and other areas of knowledge at Penta's Career Night in Perrysburg Township Monday.
Penta Career Center Superintendent Ron Matter spoke about the benefits a technical education can offer over the traditional four-year college education.
"It's an awareness gap that we have in this country, that we keep pushing this story, that the only way to be successful is a four-year degree when you have welders, mechanics, advanced manufacturing individuals that are knocking down six figures without that college debt," he said.
Central Catholic sophomore Bradley Hoyt discovered an interest in automotive in the video game world and is looking to translate that into a job in the real world.
"Forza kind of got me into racing with cars and then seeing my dad work with some tools for Dye storage kind of made we want to get a little more into cars," he said.
"I've known I wanted to be a pastry chef since I was in third grade," said Emaleigh Beer, an Ostego High School student who is considering PENTA's culinary program.
Beer said she found her love for baking with her grandma, adding they have their own peanut butter cookie recipe. She said she thinks Penta's hand-on courses could be a good fit for her.
"I feel like it's pretty important," she said. "There's a lot to learn and it's hard to learn just sitting at a desk doing paperwork."
Beer added she hopes to one day have her own pastry shop in her Grand Rapids hometown in Wood County.
Hundreds of students used the event at Penta to discover a future career.
