PHS introduced its first ever Future Pathways Program on April 15, alongside the annual college fair held during April 14 and 15. Across the two days, juniors at PHS explored post-secondary futures that involved higher education through the college fair, as well as alternative careers through the Future Pathways Program.
Since 2005, the average cost of college tuition and fees has increased by 93 percent, according to the Education Data Initiative. Adjusted for inflation, this number is 17 percent in real terms. To address this issue, IDEAS Center Director Dr. Andrea Dinan launched the Future Pathways Program this year.
“College has become incredibly expensive, [but] there’s many different ways to get the training that you need or to figure out what your passion is, so it’s good to keep an open mind and check out all the different experiences,” Dinan said. “There’re so many other jobs and occupations and fields in the world that don’t necessarily need four years of college.”
Juniors who participated in Future Pathways received a passport to get stamped at each of the career paths they visited, with prizes awarded to those who filled out the entire passport. As a result, more juniors were incentivised to consider the opportunities provided by the fair.
“I might stray away from the college path and go to trade school, pilot school, or something like that,” said Tacto Yamada ’27.
Dinan invited professionals, workers, and representatives from a variety of different fields and professions, including USPS, the military, real estate, heating and air, and even representatives from Princeton Public Schools.
“I loved [sharing] with the folks around here because we’re always working with students and trying to get information out [about] careers, education and training,” said Director of the Mercer County Fire Academy James McCann. “We get people who are from all different backgrounds, and I think they all come with a passion for wanting to do good.”
In addition to directly entering their career after high school, many students choose to pursue a higher education, an opportunity that they learned more about at the college fair. College and career counselor Nipurna Shah has years of experience organizing the college fair and inviting universities to attend. PHS, which is part of a college consortium with other high schools in the area, used its combined resources and connections to reach out to colleges for their attendance at these fairs. This year, over 148 colleges attended the PHS college fair.
“I [was] excited to meet with the colleges that I’m interested in. I’ve been on tours and I’ve talked with these admissions counselors, but I [wanted] to get a more handson experience and really see what can pique my interest while I [was] there,” said Ian Lansky ’27.
This year, students were introduced to StriveScan, an online tool used to make the registration and attendance process more efficient and to give college representatives a way to learn about students via a personalized QR code. Both events have been designed to assist juniors in finding what paths might fit them later on in life — the representatives and PHS advisors aimed to broaden their horizons to future possibilities.
“I always encourage students to really think about what they love to do,” said Shah. “Find what you like, and you don’t necessarily have to know what it is yet in high school, college gives you time to explore that, but look for things that really excite you and ignite your passion.”