June 6, 2025 | Nick Gross
Find Your Grind Lifestyle Fair reimagines the workforce with 1,200 students alongside Hilliard City Schools
Empowering Futures: A Recap of the Hilliard City Schools Lifestyle Fair with Find Your Grind
On May 22, 2025, Hilliard City Schools, in collaboration with the Educational Service Center of Central Ohio and Find Your Grind (FYG), hosted an innovative Lifestyle Fair at Tolles Career and Technical Center. This event marked a significant shift from traditional career fairs, focusing on helping over 1,200 seventh-grade students explore their identities, interests, and potential career paths through immersive, hands-on experiences.
A New Approach to Career Exploration
The Lifestyle Fair was designed to move beyond the conventional booth-style setup. Instead, it offered interactive activations aligned with FYG’s 16 lifestyle archetypes, such as Competitor, Explorer, Connector, and Entrepreneur. These stations allowed students to engage directly with various industries, providing a tangible sense of what different career paths entail. Activities ranged from rocket launch simulations to creative design challenges, all aimed at igniting curiosity and self-discovery.
Community and Industry Engagement
The success of the fair was amplified by the active participation of local businesses and organizations. Companies like Roto Group contributed engaging activities, such as a rocket launch station, to inspire students and provide real-world insights into various professions. These collaborations not only enriched the students’ experience but also strengthened the connection between education and the local workforce.
Shout out to the entire Find Your Grind team—your approach to future readiness, grounded in lifestyle design, is not just innovative—it is inspiring. The curriculum and lifestyle assessments you have created are meaningful, relevant, and connect with our students in real and powerful ways. You met them exactly where they are, and we are energized by the possibilities of scaling this kind of learning and experience across our schools and region.
Mark Tremayne, Director of Innovation, Hilliard City Schools, OH
Impact and Reflections
Feedback from students, educators, and community partners highlighted the fair’s effectiveness in making career exploration relevant and personal. By focusing on students’ lifestyles and interests, the event encouraged them to envision futures that align with their passions and strengths. Educators noted increased student engagement and a renewed enthusiasm for learning about potential career paths.
What amazing day filled with inspiration and learning. Thank you Find Your Grind for facilitating the day!
Robb Gonda, Director of College and Career Readiness, ESC of Central OH
Looking Ahead
The Lifestyle Fair represents a forward-thinking approach to education, emphasizing the importance of self-awareness and personalized learning in preparing students for the future. Hilliard City Schools and its partners plan to continue this initiative, aiming to expand its reach and impact in the coming years.
This event exemplifies how innovative educational experiences can empower students to take charge of their futures, fostering a generation that is both self-aware and future-ready!
