A Showy 2026 Bartlett Student Showcase

Spring is an exciting time for our staff at the Blackstone Valley Hub as we get the opportunity to attend many student showcases. On Friday, May 1, we visited Bartlett High School in Webster, MA. 237 students displayed 89 booths demonstrating weeks of hard work with internships, Innovation Career Pathways and Project Lead The Way (guided by our own Board Member, Suzie Snow).

With my background in marketing, I had the privilege of "judging" 4 projects, one centered around marketing for the BHS school store, another highlighting a student's passion for landscaping and lawn care, a third focused on a student covered under our YouthWorks program working with the Worcester Bravehearts, and lastly a student focused on 2 internships in healthcare. All got glowing remarks to their responses regarding the challenges they overcame & the advice they'd give to others.

I also had the opportunity to meet Vicki Fry, who works with one of our START Manufacturing students, Michael Pagan, at Jeffco Fibers where she is the Vice President of Human Resources. It was inspiring to transition from watching Michael in class to hearing him speak passionately about the work his is doing onsite with manufacturing. He shared advice about developing a keener awareness to the importance of quality control and recognizing mistakes before they become problems, specifically in connection to cutting and measuring foam.

A huge congratulations to Michele Bigelow of Bartlett High School for coordinating all the logistics for a successful event. From organizing a tour of the school, to creating judging score cards, providing student support, organizing shuttle pickups, sending invitations and more, we know how lucky Bartlett High is to have you!

Hosting an internship fair at your school? Make sure to share it with us at barrett.lauren@bvhub.org.