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.”

Photo: Andrea Dinan

Representatives from the Princeton Fire Department introduce Saurish Kapoor ’26 to the requirements for becoming a firefighter.

Andrea Dinan's Work