At the 2026 KC DiversAbility College and Career Fair, The Transition Academy’s reverse career fair gave our students something most career events never do: the spotlight. Students from Hogan Preparatory Academy and Crossroads Preparatory Academy spent months getting ready for this moment. Resume writing. Cover letters. Interview skills. Social-emotional learning. All of it building toward one afternoon in April when they would stand beside a display board they built themselves and say this is who I am, and this is what I can do.
A Different Kind of Career Fair
The reverse career fair flips the traditional format entirely. Instead of students walking the floor looking for opportunities, employers come to them. Each student’s board is a personal snapshot of their skills, their interests, their work experience, their goals, and their personality. Not a template. Not a fill-in-the-blank form. A real, creative representation of where they are and where they want to go.
TTA Program and Services Director Carlton Fowler watched with pride as some students blossomed at the reverse career fair. “Students who might be a little more quiet and shy in the classroom really stood out and showcased themselves. You saw nothing but smiles.”
The transformation from uncertainty to pride was visible across the room. Some students came in hesitant. Some came in convinced they didn’t need it. But once they started building their boards and understood what the day could mean, something shifted. The work they had put into their boards suddenly made sense as they talked to potential employers.
Getting There Takes Work
TTA staff worked with students at both Crossroads Prep and Hogan Prep High Schools throughout the academic year. Staff worked to help them identify their strengths, articulate their goals, and practice presenting themselves in a professional setting.
Carlton described watching one student, initially resistant to the whole idea, discover his entry point through his artwork. He realized the board could showcase who he actually was — an artist and creative, not just a resume on paper. At that point he was fully, enthusiastically in.
That’s the design. Because one of the most persistent barriers young people with disabilities face isn’t a lack of capability. It’s a lack of opportunity to be seen as capable. The reverse career fair changes that framing on purpose.
What Employers Saw
Attendees at TTA’s stakeholders luncheon had the opportunity to cross the hall after lunch and serve as interviewers, sitting down one-on-one with students and asking them about their boards, their goals, and their plans. TTA Operations Director Christina Esteban described what that meant for the students.
“I think in that moment, they were able to connect to a vision of bringing that workforce dream to light. To have a professional view them and have a conversation with them so they can share their skills and interests — that was truly an experience for each of them.”
Eleven interviewers conducted interviews with 15 students. For many of those students, it was their first professional interview. It will not be their last.
This Is the Capstone
The reverse career fair is more than an event. It is the culmination of a year’s worth of work — a capstone experience that asks TTA students to show up, stand tall, and let the world see what they’ve got. To see it in action, watch our video:
To find out more about the impact of the KC DiversAbility College and Career Fair, click here.
