Nearly 800 Wayne County eighth graders spent this past Thursday exploring dozens of different career options at the 2024 Career Carnival held at the Wayne County Fairgrounds in Palmyra.

The event, hosted by Wayne County Community Schools, showcased over 60 vendors, ranging from skilled trades to emergency services. Students were able to get hands-on demonstrations and were able to interact with professionals from Optimax, Halco, Garlock and several other local businesses and organizations.

Vehicles from Wayne County EMS, the Sheriff’s Office and other vendors were also parked on-site, giving students close-up views of what could one day be their future career.

The likely highlight for most attendees had to be the half dozen inflatable bounce houses and obstacle courses that were setup thanks to multiple sponsors of the event including Reliant, ABX and Constellation brands.

Kristina Murty of Wayne County Community Schools says this is just one opportunity the organization provides for students to get out of the classroom and learn. Later this month, the group will host an event exclusively for area 10th grade girls called empowerME. Murty says they expect several hundred local students, presenters and volunteers to be on hand discussing mental health issues and more. The event will take place from 9am-1pm on October 15th and 16th at Wayne Finger Lakes BOCES Conference Center in Newark.