How Birmingham Promise Fair Provides Students with Path to Higher Ed and Workforce Careers

By Breonna Atkins | batkins@al.com Birmingham City Schools students crowded Boutwell Auditorium Thursday, eager to talk to the variety of colleges and employers who had also packed the room. Birmingham Promise’s Scholarship Fair provided Birmingham City Schools students the opportunity to talk to colleges, universities and work-force career paths. Students from area high schools had the chance to grab merchandise and informational pamphlets that are offered from the institution they spoke to, as well as an in person conversation with the spokesperson for that institution. With a variety of different colleges and universities from all over as well as workforce jobs, this fair pushed students in the direction of making choices for their futures. Promise, founded in 2019, connects city students with paid workforce experiences and college scholarships. “This type of fair is definitely needed,” Mayor Randall Woodfin said in an interview. “When it comes to exposure and opportunity, unfortunately our children don’t have it in spades like a lot of other children do. For Birmingham Promise to partner with Birmingham City Schools to have this fair so students can take time away from school to actually see representatives, colleges and universities in real-time is a big deal. We also...