Hundreds of students from area districts participated in the first STEAM Ahead: Building Your Future job expo at the Holiday Inn Austin Conference Center on Thursday. It’s designed to be a hands on, career exploring event for middle school students, and other students looking at their future careers. The event will be in Austin this year, Owatonna next year and Albert Lea the following year. All of these schools are part of an eight district school consortium. The event was put on by Riverland Community College, the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, Chambers of Commerce in Austin, Albert Lea, and Owatonna. Photos provided