Lancaster, NH- September 25, 2026 – UNH Cooperative Extension, White Mountains Regional MiddleHigh School, and the NH Division of Forests & Lands hosted the 2026 North Country Career Expo at the Lancaster Fairgrounds on Tuesday, September 15. Over 1,400 middle and high school students from New Hampshire’s North Country and neighboring communities in northeastern Vermont and northwestern Maine attended to explore career opportunities in our region.
With an emphasis on interactive exploration, dozens of professionals from a variety of fields came together to share hands-on demonstrations, displays, and activities. Students had the opportunity to try new skills, ask questions, and experience the work involved firsthand. After the students left in the afternoon, the Expo remained open to the public as a job fair.
Representatives from the forestry, automotive, manufacturing, construction, agriculture, emergency services, corrections, culinary & hospitality, energy, education, and healthcare industries, and more, greeted students and shared information about their fields.
North Country Healthcare proudly sponsored the Healthcare Career Pavilion at the North Country Career Expo. New this year, the Pavilion was a full building dedicated to healthcare careers, showcasing the myriad professional opportunities in healthcare, both clinical and nonclinical. Several departments from across NCH introduced students to career pathways such as radiology, home health & hospice, infection prevention, facilities management, human resources, data & analytics, and more.
A healthy community is truly a team effort, and the Expo provided an opportunity for healthcare organizations to work together in showing students the many career paths available close to home. Other regional healthcare partners represented in the Pavilion included Littleton Regional Hospital, Cottage Hospital, Ammonoosuc Community Health Services, North Country Health Consortium, the WOMB Initiative, Family Resource Center, the Advanced Regenerative Manufacturing Institute (ARMI), and the University of New Hampshire.
The Healthcare Pavilion highlighted an important message: healthcare careers extend far beyond the roles students may see during a typical medical appointment. Caring for a community requires clinical professionals, technicians, educators, support teams, operational experts, and people with many different skills and interests. Throughout the day, students spoke directly with professionals, explored equipment and processes, and learned how individual roles contribute to patient care and community health.
For more information about the 2026 North Country Career Expo, visit extension.unh.edu/2026/09/2026-north-country-career-expo.