BOSTON — Junior Achievement of Greater Boston welcomed more than 1,200 eighth graders to take part in its second annual “JA Inspire” Interactive Career Exploration Fair at the Hynes Convention Center. Lynn was one of the nine municipalities invited Tuesday, as eighth graders from both Breed and Thurgood Marshall Middle Schools were given the opportunity to engage with 40 different exhibitors.

Junior Achievement of Greater Boston’s vision is to close wealth and opportunity gaps for young people in the nine participating Commonwealth communities by creating pathways for middle schoolers to find their career, igniting youth entrepreneurship, and educating young people on how to be financially resourceful. The nonprofit organization was founded more than a century ago and now has chapters in 100 different countries.

Junior Achievement of Greater Boston President and CEO Radhames Nova spoke on why he chose to focus this event on communities such as Lynn.

“These are gateway cities,” Nova said. “They’re communities where young people have huge amounts of talent and potential, but perhaps they don’t have the same resources as some of the suburban communities that may have more opportunities for them.”

In addition to representatives from the 40 companies, numerous state officials also attended in support of Junior Achievement’s work. Massachusetts Secretary of Education Patrick Tutwiler, a former Lynn Public Schools superintendent, said that the fair is one large component of a greater movement for middle schoolers across the state.

“This is part and parcel of a real important transformation that’s happening in secondary schools that really focuses on high-interest, deeply relevant experiences for students,” Tutwiler said.

After a brief introduction, students were given free reign to explore the various career paths. The exhibits included representation from a diverse group of fields that included engineering, business, education, law, communications, health services, and more. The first booth students encountered upon entry was that of Staples, as the company served as the event’s main sponsor. Breed students Jasly Deleon and Tyler Doan both came into the fair with the interests of medicine and science respectively, and had little issue finding exhibits that piqued their interest. Thurgood Marshall teacher Leigh Ann Meshay prepared her students for the occasion by making them think about what they want to do in the future through a mock interview.

“I had them do an elevator pitch about themselves,” Meshay explained. “Like if you were trying to have a potential employer hire you, why should they hire you? What do you care about? What do you like?”

DuPont Electronics and Engineering’s Marlborough site leader, Ellen Mager, alluded that the students are not the only ones who benefit from taking part in the fair.

“It’s really exciting to be a part of this event to introduce the science, technology, engineering field to so many students,” Mager said. “It’s inspiring to me because all of their minds are so open about where they would like to go.”

Nova said that Junior Achievement will continue to work with the attending students as they enter high school and beyond.