BENTON HARBOR – Using your noodle will be more important than ever today when teams of students from four area high schools measure the strength of their homemade spaghetti bridges – testing their teamwork not only against weights, but against each others’ designs.

Bridge-building is one of many competitions at the state’s first Jobs for America’s Graduates (JAG) Career Development Conference.

The event is to be the yearly capstone of the Michigan Works!-led JAG program, a nationwide dropout prevention and school-to-career transition initiative focused on student graduation and excellence going forward into the workforce or post-secondary study.

Students from the JAG program, including Cassopolis, also will compete in events focusing on employability skills trivia, appropriate dress, creative problem solving, public speaking and career banner design.