Students in the eighth grade do not have to know what they want to be when they grow up, but it does not mean they cannot explore the possibilities.

On Tuesday, more than 60 selected students in the eighth grade across Niles and Edwardsburg school districts got a chance to explore a variety of career paths during a “College Positive Community Event” at Lake Michigan College’s Bertrand Crossing.

Students visited four different sessions to learn about manufacturing and engineering, computer information services, health science and culinary and hospitality.

The event was funded and coordinated by members of the Michigan Gateway Community Foundation’s Youth Advisory Council, which is made up of roughly 20 high school students across southwest Michigan. The students received a $2,000 donation from the Gateway Foundation and another $2,000 from the Niles Leighton-Oare Foundation to put toward the event.

The funds allowed for students across Berrien and Cass County to visit the college over two days.

YAC Advisor Jayne Lamb said the goal was to encourage a college positive environment for at-risk students, who are defined as low-income background students or those aiming to be first generation college students.

This is the third year that YAC has helped to plan the event for middle school students. Lamb said she hopes to help spark some interest in eighth graders so that they can pursue a subject they feel passionate about in high school and prepare for college.

Before the students leave, they take an exit survey and many of their comments reflect an excitement toward higher education.

“The results have been wonderful,” Lamb said. “The kids are like, ‘I was not thinking about going to school. This [college] is going to be awesome.’”

Many students jumped at the opportunity to visit the college campus.

When Ring Lardner students Uber Arana and Kevin Magana look to the future they see a lot of possibilities for their career path.

Both said a dream job would be growing up to be a chef, because they enjoy cooking. They were looking forward to the culinary and hospitality session, which they were attending after their lunch break.

If being a chef does not pan out, the students have other interests they could pursue after learning about them on Monday.

Magana said he enjoyed the computer information services segment.

“It showed us how to use codes,” Magana said. “The basic things.”

Prior to the session, Magana said he did not know anything about computer codes, and now he was curious about how computers operate.

For Arana’s part, learning about the hands-on skills it takes to be a manufacturer — and the paycheck attached to the them was an allure to the eighth grader.

“It seems more fun and accurate to do,” Arana said.

Both students said they had never been on the Lake Michigan College Campus before.

Jackie Carter is a guidance counselor at Edwardsburg Middle School and attended the event with Edwardsburg students. Most of the students who were chosen to attend were in the Educational Talent Search, which aims to assist qualified students in achieving higher education.

The school tries to help seventh-grade students identify their career interests by hosting a career unit every year.

For at risk eighth-graders, talking to professionals about career possibilities can be the boost they need to pursue a subject.

“It is absolutely a wonderful opportunity,” Carter said. “They are able to come here and it is not so threatening and intimidating. They have the opportunity to look around and see what a college has to offer. It is a first start for many of our kids.”