RESERVE — Almost 200 10th through 12th grade students from East St. John, Riverside, St. Charles Catholic and West St. John high schools attended the annual career day hosted by Marathon Refinery Wednesday  at South Central Louisiana Technical College.

Marathon Training Manager Alan Crnko opened the event by explaining to the standing-room-only crowd that the Marathon motto is, “Fueling the American Spirit.”

“You guys are our future,” Crnko said. “We want to invest in you students as the future of St. John Parish. We want to put our time, energy and money in you.”

Marathon offers $15,000 in scholarships to high school students for technical careers.

The students split into small groups to tour the campus and get information on nine different programs obtainable at SCLTC.

— By Courtney Griggs