Career-minded youth in grades 9 and 10 are invited to join the Youth Career Conference, to be held June 20-25, 1999. This conference, hosted by the University of Minnesota, Crookston (UMC), is an exciting opportunity for young people to explore career options in agriculture, communications, science, finance, sales, management, education, manufacturing and other areas. The goal is to give students a dynamic learning experience where they can tour businesses, explore their own interests and talents, and learn business techniques for their future careers.

Combining two of last year’s highly successful youth conferences (AgCEL and the Summer Institute for Young Women), boys and girls will begin their conference at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Campus, traveling next to Southwestern State University, and finally conclude their week at UMC. During this week, speakers will help students explore options, tours will be taken of local businesses, and activities will provide various career-centered insights. But it isn’t all serious; expect to have fun!

Participants last year were very enthusiastic about their experience. Pam Albrecht’s daughters attended, and Pam wrote, "I brought three girls home from the event, and they talked non-stop all the way home! Hope the program can be an annual event. It was well worth the time."

Students are connected with a mentor during this conference, and this has proven to be a very exciting aspect of the program for students. Dawn Narum, a student from Moorhead, expanded her network to include mentors in the police department. Dawn’s mother, Linda, stated, "One big lesson she has learned originally from the summer institute but the officers have reinforced it, is that the bigger her network is the better for college scholarships." These are just two of the positive responses from past participants.