BEATRICE - Students of southeast Nebraska are getting an opportunity to get their foot in the door with a number of local businesses. 

On Friday, Beatrice High School held a career fair for students with the goal of providing them a way of making connections and possible leads to opportunities in the future. 

"As a school, we're always looking for ways to both connect our students to the community and also provide them with opportunities to explore different career fields and options," Philip Voigt, BHS Assistant Principal said. "We understand that within our walls is a workforce that can be utilized by local businesses."

Over 30 local businesses attended and students were given an incentive challenge to talk with those businesses. Each student was given a punch card that was supposed to be signed by five local businesses. Students were then entered into a prize raffle after the career fair. 

Voigt says one of the observations the school took away from the career fair was the true conversations and connections students made with businesses. 

"Several of the businesses have noted how impressed they were with our students not just stopping and grabbing merchandise, but actually talking to them and engaging in productive conversations."