More than 2,200 10th grade students from Central Louisiana gathered at the Randolph Riverfront Center in Alexandria on November 19 and 20 for the Students Exploring Career Opportunities Expo.
SECO is an interactive expo funded under The Rapides Foundation’s Education Initiative and produced by its education affiliate, The Orchard Foundation.
“We’re here so high school students can learn more about careers they know about, and careers they may not know anything about,” said Theresa C. Hood, Director of Community Education and Employee Health at Rapides Regional Medical Center. “I see a lot of interest among the students. They are getting to see what a day in the life looks like if you’re a speech therapist, or what a day in the life looks like if you’re a medical laboratory scientist. It piques their interest and they leave here saying, ‘I want to know more.’”
Now in its 10th year, SECO continues to welcome public, private and home-schooled students from across Central Louisiana. In all, 47 schools from Allen, Avoyelles, Catahoula, Grant, LaSalle, Natchitoches, Rapides, Vernon and Winn parishes were represented.
The event is designed to introduce students to careers they are interested in, while also introducing them to careers they may have never even considered. More than 70 businesses, a record number for SECO, participated in this year’s event in categories such as finance and marketing, education, agriculture, public safety, construction, healthcare and human services.
Through participation in SECO, business and community leaders play an active role in helping students make informed career decisions, while making a long-term investment for a better Cenla workforce in the future.
Collise Dupont, Assistant Vice Chancellor of Enrollment Management with Central Louisiana Technical Community College, worked the Beyond Graduation exhibit. The Beyond Graduation Project, funded by The Rapides Foundation, aims to keep students in the educational pipeline by providing coaches who help high school seniors transition to a local university or technical community college for the fall after graduation.
“We’re here to connect with students about career options,” Dupont said, while also pointing out that every parish represented at SECO is a parish served by CLTCC. “We want students to understand there are so many more opportunities out there than the ones they may traditionally think about when they think about community college. The questions we’ve been getting are good ones. A lot of the students will come up and say, ‘I don’t really know what I want to do,’ and we say, ‘That’s what community college is for.’”
Some students arrive at SECO with a career in mind already.
“I kind of have an idea of what I want to do,” said Camryn LaCaze, a 10th grade student from Rapides High School. “But, I want to look at other opportunities, too.”
Plus, she said, it has been fun being able to explore other careers with her friends. “It’s been really beneficial for me,” LaCaze said. “My favorite part is how it’s so interactive.”
That’s one aspect of SECO that sets it apart from other traditional career fairs. Every exhibit during the two-day event provided a hands-on activity connected to their industry.
Students had a chance to start an IV, work a medical trauma, identify items through a microscope, hop in the back of a Pafford ambulance and try on emergency gear. Those looking for careers outside of healthcare watched bucket truck demonstrations, sat in an armored truck used by the Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Office SWAT team, explored HVAC simulations, tried out their reporting skills, put on firefighter gear and had hands-on experience with the “Jaws of Life.”
At the Hixson Brothers Funeral Home exhibit, students learned about cremations and viewed equipment used in the embalming process. At the Alexandria Zoo exhibit, students saw a live tortoise. Students built tiny houses with Lincoln Logs at the RoyOMartin exhibit, and they learned how to tell the age of a fish by identifying growth rings at an exhibit from the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.
“I never knew what I wanted to do after high school,” said Caleb Hoyt, a 10th grade student from Rapides High School. “Seeing all of these careers, it gives me an idea of what I may want to pursue. I know I want to serve my community, but that could be anything from law enforcement or the military, to something medical.”
The most common questions students asked SECO presenters were about salaries in their respective industries, the type of training or education needed and what they liked most about their jobs.
“I was originally thinking of being a hairstylist,” said Madison Hillard, Grant High School 10th grader. “But I’m looking more into nursing after today. How cool is it to work on people and save lives?”
Once students had a career in mind, they could also map out a path for future education.
“I was really excited to see LSUA here,” said Markenzie Allen, Tioga High School 10th grader. “I talked to them about their nursing program. I want to go to LSUA because it’s close to home and I know they have great programs. A lot of my friends are going out of state but my family has always gone to LSUA and have had a great experience.”
The purpose of SECO is to allow 10th grade students to learn about career opportunities available in Central Louisiana – and what type of education or training they need to succeed in those careers – so students can choose the best path into the workforce. Since 10th grade students choose to pursue a TOPS University diploma or a Jump Start TOPS Tech diploma at the end of their sophomore year, this expo comes at the perfect time.
“For a small nonprofit, it’s hard for us to reach a lot students, especially face-to-face,” said Gabrielle Juneau, Chief Executive Officer with Central Louisiana Area Health Education Center. Central Louisiana AHEC is a nonprofit, community-based agency that offers a variety of education-based services for students in a 17-parish region. “This event gives us an opportunity to reach a lot of kids and tell them about the healthcare opportunities that are available to them locally.”
During the two-day SECO event, students cast their votes for their favorite interactive booth. The winners were announced on January 13, 2026 and include:
- First Place – City of Alexandria Fire Department
- Second Place – Rapides Regional Medical Center
- Third Place – Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Office
- Fourth Place – CHRISTUS St. Frances Cabrini Hospital
- Fifth Place – Alexandria Zoological Park
Honorable mentions were presented to CLTCC HVAC, Electrical, Manufacturing and Mobile Unit; City of Alexandria Code, Maintenance of Buildings, Sanitation, Traffic and Water Operator; City of Alexandria Police Department; City of Pineville Fire Department; City of Pineville Police Department; Cleco; LSUA School of Education; Pafford Medical Services; and RoyOMartin.
SECO 2026 is scheduled for Nov. 18 – 19, at the Randolph Riverfront Center. For more information about how to become involved, contact The Orchard Foundation at 318-767-6560.
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