For students, it’s never too early to start thinking about college.

Less than a month after students returned to the classroom, Mexico High School hosted its annual college fair in conjunction with Missouri Military Academy.

The college fair, held Sept. 17, featured representatives from nearly 70 colleges, universities and military branches.

Rebecca Moppin — college, career, workforce development community outreach, transition plans and scholarship coordinator at MHS — said MHS partners with MMA to give recruiters a worthwhile trip and get students in front of as many opportunities as possible.

“It is one of the larger fairs in the north-central part of the state, so we’re very fortunate that we’ve put in a lot of work and Mexico is large enough to attract that size,” Moppin said.

In addition to MHS and MMA seniors, parents as well as area schools including Hart Career Center, Mexico Education Center, Community R-6, Van-Far, Wellsville-Middletown R-1, Salisbury and Sturgeon were in attendance.

Recruiters began their day on the MHS Gary Filbert Court. Seniors were given a QR code for the recruiter to scan.

Moppin explained that the program, StriveScan, allows her to upload students’ information to streamline the college fair. It also gives her data about which schools or military branches interest students the most.

After their morning at MHS with all the area schools, recruiters then headed to MMA where they were served lunch before putting on their second college fair of the day.

The college fair isn’t just for those who haven’t made up their minds about where to attend.

MHS senior Ella Connell already knows she wants to go to school to be an ultrasound technician and she has her eyes set on the University of Missouri. She said MU has a strong four-year program and it would also allow her to stay pretty close to home.

But she also wants a little bit of that college experience.

“I want community,” Connell said. “I want a fun time as well as learning,”

A college fair as large as Mexico’s takes months to organize.

Moppin said planning begins in March and the whole fair is sanctioned by the Missouri Association for College Admission Counseling.

Her goal is to give students the opportunity to live, work and play here in Mexico.

“For a community like Mexico where we are (in) higher poverty, a little bit higher need, what it really does is it opens the ideas for kids and allows them to realize that there are opportunities out there,” Moppin said. “They can go out and they can forge their own path.”