Sycamore High School student Nia Mae Grovers doesn’t yet know what her post-secondary plans are.

But she said she’s interested in learning more about her options.

So much so, it moved her to attend Trades Exploration Day, a career fair helping students and community members learn more about the trades.

“Our school was putting announcements out about it, and I thought it’d be interesting to come and see what everybody had,” Grovers said.

Careers in carpentry and plumbing and heating, to food product manufacturing and appliance repair, were among those featured at the inaugural Trades Exploration Day at DeKalb High School.

The idea behind the event was spurred by the success of the Heavy Metal Summer Experience, a summer camp sponsored by the DeKalb Chamber of Commerce that introduced teens to skills necessary for working in the trades.

“We had all these students [who] enjoyed what they did and then are like, ‘Well, now how do I make this occur?’” DeKalb Chamber executive director Matt Duffy said.

Duffy said the event provided a next step for many on how they can build a career in the trades.

“We need to do something to expose them to the trades,” Duffy said.

Organizers said the event saw more than 25 different trades represented.

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Vistors receive information from one of the booths Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025, during Trades Exploration Day at DeKalb High School. The event hosted several companies and organizations that were offering information on opportunities in the trades. (Mark Busch)

Among those running a booth at the event to showcase their line of work was Vince Filicetti, business manager at DeKalb Contract Glazing, 207 N. Sixth Street.

Filicetti said he was hoping to get the word out about what working in the glazing industry looks like.

Glazing is a trade specializing in the installation of glass.

“It’s a smaller trade,” Filicetti said. “A lot of people don’t know about it. ... We work a lot with painters and drywallers.”

One such challenge, Filicetti said, the glazing industry faces is with hiring and recruiting.

“People retire and then there’s not enough people that want to start young anymore, especially when you can do jazz [where] you sit in front of a computer all day or do something a little more cushy,” he said. “Some of these jobs still need to get done by actually getting feet on the ground, getting hands dirty, which again is more of the glazer’s job.”

Miranda Cordes was mingling with exhibitors, trying to find out more about working in the trades. She said she was motivated to come out.

“I actually have a son in high school, but he’s not able to come with us,” Cordes said.

Cordes was joined at the event by her daughters, Mila and Adelyn.

“My youngest daughter keeps talking about being a firefighter, and then my older one, a police officer,” Cordes said. “We actually came to check them out.”

Amy Horn, assistant director at the Kishwaukee Education Consortium (KEC), said it meant a lot to the career center to get the word out about its program offerings and how they can better prepare students for trade careers.

The Kishwaukee Education Consortium, 21255 Malta Road in Malta, is a career center for juniors and seniors in high school that offers coursework based on industry and business needs at the local, state, and federal levels. They provide a curriculum that prepares students for careers in 20 different programs.

“Anytime we’re able to be in the community and just have people exposed to us and they understand what KEC is, it just gives us some more awareness with the community, with the industry, [and] with students,” Horn said.

Horn said the event’s turnout speaks volumes about the mindset of students in today’s world.

“I think the students are very interested in the trades right now,” Horn said. “We’re seeing this more and more. It’s reflective of society [and] what’s going on. I think some are realizing they don’t just have to go to a four-year school. But they can leave high school and go right to a trade.”

Kurt Mattson, president and owner at DeKalb Mechanical, said showing up for the event mattered to him.

DeKalb Mechanical, 339 Wurlitzer Drive, specializes in residential and commercial heating and air conditioning repairs and installations.

“I’ve already seen it in some of the kids,” Mattson said. “As they walk down this hall, their eyes really get opened up on what the opportunities are out there.”

Mattson said working in HVAC is something that he’s long enjoyed.

“I used to work at oil refineries as an intern and just kind of stemmed from there,” he said.

Grovers said she feels the career fair was helpful to her.

“It’s been nice. There [are] different organizations,” Grovers said. “Some of them I hadn’t heard of... So, it’s nice to learn exactly what they do.”

Duffy said the chamber was pleased by the event’s turnout.

“It’s exciting to hear that there’s that kind of interest to come to events like this,” Duffy said.