ZONTA International Wangaratta is set to inspire the next batch of some of the region's year 11 female students with its career pathway breakfast this Thursday.

It will be the 18th year of the Zonta breakfast, which exposes the students from across the North East to potential career paths and inspires young women.

The breakfast will be held from 7:30am, with an expected 96 students attending from 10 different schools from within Wangaratta, Benalla, Yarrawonga, Rutherglen and Beechworth.

Before the breakfast at the Gateway Hotel, the teenagers are asked to submit a preferred career path they would like to pursue and they are paired with a mentor from that chosen career path.

Along with Indi federal Independent MP Helen Haines there will be two other guest speakers who both attended high school in Wangaratta.

They have since travelled the world through their chosen careers and will share their experiences and wisdom with the students.

Event organiser Christine Haddrick said the morning is about showing the young students the broader aspects of what a career could be.

“The reason behind it is to show regional students that just because you are educated in a regional area, it doesn’t stop you from achieving your career pathway,” she said.

“Hopefully they get some work experience, they get some pathways opened to them, some cross-networking.

“What we find is the mentors are the ones asking to come back the next year… they get such a buzz out of watching and listening to the students’ stories.”

Ms Haddrick said there would be mentors from a range of career pathways at the breakfast including police, psychologists, dentists, politicians, nurses and more.

“We’ve seen all sorts of success stories over the years,” she said.

“As an example last year, one of our dentist mentors who is on this national committee, went out on this committee and this girl came up to her and said she remembered her because they sat together at the Zonta breakfast.

“And she told her because they sat together she continued on with her desire to work in the dental area and now she sits on that same committee.”

Ms Haddrick thanked the long-standing support of the Gateway Hotel, Wangaratta RSL and the region’s schools, to make the breakfast a reality.