A new campaign hopes seeing is believing when it come to career options for high school students.
Thunder Bay was the first stop on the Picture Your Future tour, a Colleges Ontario and the Ontario College Application Service promotion to get high school students interested in college-offered programs.
Students chose from a wide variety of costumes --from nurse to firefighter to game developer -- before stepping in front of a green screen and having a photograph taken as that profession.
"Just give them a sense of 'You can do this job but make it your job'," photographer Jessica MacDonald said.
A slow trickle of students began to file in during lunch hour at Hammarskjold High School Tuesday. But the line-up started getting longer as word got out.
"Lights and cameras, that's when the curiosity starts to spark," MacDonald said.
Students were having fun as they dressed as personal trainers and pilots. Some took liberties with the props and made their own careers, combining several costumes. Others brought their own, like a young girl who's an aspiring welder.
MacDonald said there's sometimes a stigma associated with college rather than university. But getting students interested in college programs shows them that there are a lot of opportunities out there.
"I wish I had known what I know now," she said.
Menowaywin Vella-Garrick, 16, was the first student to stand in front of the bright lights.
"I thought it might be cool," he said. "It was pretty good."
Looking at the photo of himself as a firefighter, Vella-Garrick said seeing himself like that with a fire truck and flames Photoshopped behind him, helped reinforce that he wants to be a firefighter one day.
"It's pretty nice," he said.
The campaign is also looking to get students to share their photos through social media to start the conversation about life after high school.
