By Megan Gross
megan.gross@education.ky.gov

For my first photo blog at the Kentucky Department of Education, I recently went to the 2nd annual Academies of Lexington Career Expo over in Fayette County.

Freshmen from Bryan Station, Frederick Douglass and Tates Creek High School gathered together at the Lexington Convention Center to explore possible future careers with different local businesses that had set up activities just for them. From taking photos with animated characters on a green screen to wrapping up body parts due to “sprains,” the students had a blast experimenting with their peers.

The event was sponsored by a longtime supporter Lexmark International. There were more than 50 business partners that introduced students to opportunities in manufacturing, technology, media arts, medical and health sciences, law enforcement, construction, fire and emergency services, hospitality and professional business services.

Frederick Douglass High School freshmen Amber Lewis and Alanna Aleen watch as their friend Kennedy Edwards shows them how to edit a selfie. Photo by Megan Gross, Nov. 5, 2018

Frederick Douglass High School freshmen Amber Lewis and Alanna Aleen watch as their friend Kennedy Edwards shows them how to edit a selfie.
Photo by Megan Gross, Nov. 5, 2018

Brent Edington competes with a classmate from Frederick Douglass High School to win a high-tech soccer game. The students were using an app on a tablet to control a electronic soccer ball. Photo by Megan Gross, Nov. 5, 2018

Brent Edington competes with a classmate from Frederick Douglass High School to win a high-tech soccer game. The students were using an app on a tablet to control an electronic soccer ball.
Photo by Megan Gross, Nov. 5, 2018

Achiles Moraitis of Frederick Douglass High School got some tips on how to operate a virtual excavator during the 2nd annual Academies of Lexington Career Expo. Photo by Megan Gross, Nov. 5, 2018

Achilles Moraitis of Frederick Douglass High School got some tips on how to operate a virtual excavator during the 2nd annual Academies of Lexington Career Expo.
Photo by Megan Gross, Nov. 5, 2018

A group of students from Frederick Douglass High School got an unusual lesson about working together. The students, who each were holding a piece of rope that held up a ball, had to figure out how to move together to lower the ball onto a pipe. It only took a couple of tries. That takes teamwork! Photo by Megan Gross, Nov. 5, 2018

A group of students from Frederick Douglass High School got an unusual lesson about working together. The students, who each were holding a piece of rope that held up a ball, had to figure out how to move together to lower the ball onto a pipe. It only took a couple of tries. That takes teamwork!
Photo by Megan Gross, Nov. 5, 2018

Emilie Tackett of Tates Creek High School races her friend to get M&M's into the medicine bottles. The students had to get the candy into the bottle in a particular order to simulate the work a pharmacist does. Photo by Megan Gross, Nov. 5, 2018

Emilie Tackett of Tates Creek High School races her friend to get M&M’s into the medicine bottles. The students had to get the candy into the bottle in a particular order to simulate the work a pharmacist does.
Photo by Megan Gross, Nov. 5, 2018

Greenlee Resch, a freshman from Tates Creek High School (Fayette County), gets the chance to look at specimens under a microscope. Photo by Megan Gross, Nov. 5,2018

Greenlee Resch, a freshman from Tates Creek High School (Fayette County), gets the chance to look at specimens under a microscope.
Photo by Megan Gross, Nov. 5,2018

Seyvion Mogorosi of Tates Creek High School races to be the first of his friends to sink a nail into a piece of wood. They were visiting a booth to show students possible careers in the field of construction during the 2nd annual Academies of Lexington Career Expo. Photo by Megan Gross, Nov. 5, 2018

Seyvion Mogorosi of Tates Creek High School races to be the first of his friends to sink a nail into a piece of wood. They were visiting a booth to show students possible careers in the field of construction during the 2nd annual Academies of Lexington Career Expo.
Photo by Megan Gross, Nov. 5, 2018