'Dream Higher' career fair could be springboard for new nonprofit.

• Author: Shortlidge, Chandler
• Position: EDUCATION

As Richard Allen frantically walked the halls of Centaurus High School in Lafayette during the What Can YOU Do Day in early April, he watched with pride as students discovered the many careers they could one day be a part of.

The career fair, which included demonstrations and hands-on activities, is an offshoot of another career fair called Dream Higher, which was also held at CHS. Allen, his partner Matt Kaspari, and Debbie Trujillo, chair of the Board of Directors at the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Metro Denver, were the masterminds behind the day's activities.

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While Dream Higher focused on bringing in leaders from the Latino community to provide Latino high school students with role models, and as Allen noted, to show Anglo kids that stereotypes aren't always true, What Can YOU Do Day had a wider aim.

"Usually career fairs are something that happen in college," Allen said. "But we knew we needed to start younger to help motivate these kids to stay in school and get an education."

The diverse group of businesses in attendance included Apple, several banks, the military, nonprofits, the FBI, and even a Boulder-based robotics company called Orbolix.

"We want to spark the students' interest in the future, and help them to see...