Businesspeople, professionals and representatives from 100 colleges fielded questions from area high school students Thursday for Career Day at Riverland Community College.

About 700 students listened as individuals from fields like auto and diesel mechanics, small business, education and government service, as they presented the pros and cons about their specific fields as well as what students can do now to prepare themselves for those careers.

Tricia Whalen, director of placement and graduate services, said career planning is very important for high-school students.

"It's important because it gives them the information they need to make informed decisions about the kind of careers they want to go into, especially now, when they're making decisions about colleges," she said.

Lacy Laughton, a junior at Glenville-Emmons High School, has been to career fairs before, but never one as big as this. She said the amount of career choices represented at the fair gave her more opportunities to get information to prepare for her future. Thirty-seven different career areas were represented.

"We're just getting a broad range for what we want to do," Laughton said. "You can pick more classes and ask more questions."

Austin High School junior Jake Swank said the day was very informative. Opportunities to experience different careers is important for students as they begin to make choices for college or the work force, he said.

"If they did this two or three times a year, that would be great," Swank said. "I wish the schools had more money to provide classes like this."

He attended the small business presentation. He said he was surprised to learn that more than 80 percent of small businesses fail. He also learned about an interesting career opportunity -- business coaches -- who teach small business owners about running their businesses.

He learned that for high school students today, the most important thing is "searching, searching, searching," he said. "Asking questions, learning, and definitely searching."

At the college fair, students had the opportunity to find out about college courses, scholarships and application processes. Glenville-Emmons junior Amber Koziolek said speaking with school representatives helped her get a clearer picture of what to expect from colleges.

"They all send you information, but you don't get to learn as much from the pamphlets," she said.

Matt Merritt can be reached at 434-2214 or by email at matt.merritt@austindailyherald.com