04/25/2026
Iâm honestly humbled by the people who showed up today for our students.
Before the first bus ever arrived, the day was already in motion.
At 6:00 a.m., City of Abbeville workers were placing barricades and closing off the streets from West Williams Street to Ace Hardware to Kirkland Street.
At 7:00 a.m., the helicopter landed in the middle.
Soon after, our ATTA team began setting the stageâhanding out lanyards and t-shirts to volunteers, organizing signage, arranging tables, and preparing to welcome exhibitors.
Then the exhibitors arrived. Then the buses.
Students stepped off, checked in, looked around⌠and just like that, the event began.
And the energy shifted.
This wasnât passive. Students werenât just walking from booth to booth. They were engagedâsmiling, asking questions, leaning in. You could see it in their faces: they were encountering possibilities they hadnât fully imagined before.
The experiences were everywhere.
Students interacted with robotsâfrom the Headland Robotics team, from Troy Universityâs Science in Motion program, and even a bomb-sniffing robot brought by the Dothan Bomb Squad. They watched a 3D printer in the Alabama Extension mobile STEM lab build dragons right in front of them.
They held animalsâbaby goats, a lamb, even chickens unlike most of us had ever seenâthanks to local community members and veterinarians who turned learning into something hands-on and unforgettable.
They climbed inside a cotton picker, stood next to a helicopter, and talked with people working in careers ranging from healthcare to aviation to advanced manufacturing.
And then there were the moments you canât plan.
Seeing one of the eagles that flies around the Auburn football field on your own courthouse lawn.
Watching students light up during a simple game of giant Jenga made of YellaWood.
Running into people you hadnât seen in decades.
It felt, in many ways, like a small-town reunion⌠but with purpose.
An Abbeville High School graduate, now a neuroscientist in Tuscaloosa, came back and reconnected with her teachers, her family, and her community. Itâs a clear example of technology and community coming together to improve lives.
But what made the day meaningful wasnât just the scale of what was there.
It was the people who showed up.
We are incredibly grateful for the larger companies, organizations, and institutions that invested their time and resources into this day. Their presence matters, and it made a difference.
But just as meaningful were the everyday members of our community.
The people you see at the grocery store, the gas station, or a local restaurant⌠people whose skills and careers you might not fully know.
And then they show upâwith something they made themselves. A hands-on wound care demonstration built from cardboard and paint.
My boyfriend doesnât run a large roofing company. He runs a small business. But he showed upâwith a simple âRoofing 101â handout, work gloves, and shinglesâand spent time with students.
And that mattered.
Because students werenât just seeing careers.
They were seeing themselves in those careers.
Behind the scenes, this day was carried by a community.
Volunteers from the Abbeville Matrons Club, the Henry County Retired Teachers Association, and the Chamber showed up in force.
Local churches opened their spaces for check-in and parking.
A restaurant stepped outside its walls to serve students.
Businesses, educators, and neighbors all found a way to contribute.
And one thing I heard over and overâstudents were engaged. Especially those who traveled from places like Andalusia and Banks.
Some rode buses for hours just to be there.
They wanted to be there.
They were ready for it.
And that makes one thing very clear: there is a real need for opportunities like this.
After the event, one exhibitor said they believed they had more fun than the students.
Another described it simply as âa career fair, but more fun.â
Someone also said our ATTA team was brave to take this on.
And theyâre right.
This was the first time any of us had ever attempted something like this.
For a small organization, it was a big undertaking.
But we stepped into it anyway.
And what carried it⌠was the community.
I know Iâm leaving someone out, and I hope those individuals know how important they were to making this day what it was.
Because at the end of the day, this isnât about titles or recognition.
Itâs about showing up.
And because people showed up, students left today seeing something newâpicturing themselves in careers they hadnât considered, thinking differently about their future.
Thatâs what makes it worth it.
And thatâs exactly why this work matters.
Kate Killebrew
ATTA Designer and Executive Director
