SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – Last Wednesday, the community of South Lake Tahoe SHOWED UP for the students of South Tahoe High.

Roughly 30 local businesses, agencies, and organizations took over the school for the inaugural Trade & Industry Fair, turning the gymnasium into a living, breathing career landscape. More than 400 students spent the afternoon discovering careers they didn’t know existed and talking to community members who were genuinely lit up about their work.

The fair, put on by Tahoe Learning Haven and STHS’s CTE team, wasn’t your typical industry fair, where students shuffle past brochures and forget everything by third period. This event was immersive. The community partners came to play. An electrician brought a working circuit board for students to interact with. Elements Restaurant showed up with fresh-squeezed lemonade. Sessions Salon taught students the techniques of the trade and had them color synthetic hair. The local floral design studio, Creations with T, brought enough fresh flowers for each student to make a floral arrangement and a boutonniere. A crime scene technician from the South Lake Tahoe Police Department showed students the whorls and arches of their own fingerprints. Wildland firefighters from the Forest Service let students strap on the full gear packs they carry into a fire and feel exactly how serious that job is. The military and fire service laid out the full picture of what a career in those uniforms actually looks like.

Students learned what it takes to become an electrician or an architect. A business owner or chef. They had honest conversations about training timelines, certifications, lifestyle tradeoffs, and what a career in the trades actually pays. For a lot of them, it was the first time someone sat down and gave them those types of details.

The energy in the building matched the effort the community brought, and the students were all in.

South Tahoe High School’s CTE program connects students to local industry through field trips, internships, guest speakers, and events like this one. Career & Technical Education is built on the belief that hands-on, real-world learning has the most impact…. and this fair was proof that when a community decides to invest in its kids, the kids notice.

A heartfelt thank you to every organization that made the 2025 Trade & Industry Fair possible:

Trade Schools/Business:
Sierra College
Truckee Meadows Community College
UTI
Western States of Regional Council of Carpenters
Building & Construction Trades Council of Northern Nevada
Barton Health Education
Northern Nevada Electrical Training Center 

Industry Partners:
USFS
City of SLT Fire
Lake Valley Fire
City of SLT Police
Webb Construction
Huber Plumbing
Mountain High Cabinets
Marcus Ashley Gallery
Edgewood
Ernie’s
Elements
Create with T
Sessions
Sierra at Tahoe
Recreation Center
Air Force
TRPA
Keep Tahoe Blue
Riva Engineering & Consulting
LTUSD
LTCC
Barton
City of SLT- Public Services

Story and photos by Erika Mathews, CTE Specialist

South Tahoe High