Employers and graduate programs came together on March 25 to give students post-graduate opportunities at the UConn Spring Career Fair. Opportunities included connecting with companies, exploring careers, finding internships and seeking graduate programs. The fair took place at the UConn Volleyball Center from 10 am. to 3 p.m.
The center was divided into two courts. One court was dedicated to the employers and graduate programs represented at the fair. Another was dedicated to career preparation activities including a résumé printing station and an IRIS headshot photo booth.
After checking in at the UConn Volleyball Center’s entrance, students were given a program consisting of all the employers and graduate programs at the fair. Each employer and graduate program had its own assigned table and number, making it easier for students to find a group they’re interested in.
Every employer and graduate program at the fair represented themselves in a variety of methods. Many offered brochures containing information for students. Some had souvenirs such as pens and stickers. Others offered candy and chips as snacks.
The employers at the fair came from a variety of fields, with one being finance. Companies representing finance included M&T Bank, Northwestern Mutual and New England Financial Advisors.
Three more fields represented at the fair were health, advocacy and social service. Companies from those fields included Hartford HealthCare, Public Allies Connecticut, Lumibility and the Salvation Army.
Additional fields represented at the fair were technology, construction, science and engineering. Techtronic Industries, Sweeney Excavation, Consolidated Electrical Distributors, Chem-Aqua and HTS Engineering — Heat Transfer Solutions were somone of the companies that symbolized those fields.
The fair also included companies featuring veterinary services, such as Guardian Veterinary. Holly Oths, a veterinary specialist from the company, described the company and its locations.
“Guardian Veterinary is a small animal hospital,” Oths said.” We are privately owned, and we’re based in New York. We have four locations, going on to six. Our main location is in Brewster, New York, which is about an hour and a half to two hours from here. We’re only ten minutes from Danbury and about half an hour from Stamford.”
Oths also informed what kind of candidates the company’s looking for,
“We are looking for veterinary specialists, veterinary assistants and veterinarians,” Oths said. If anyone’s interested in animals and working with them, I’d be happy to talk to them.”
There were a few colleges and universities at the career fair. Some of them were Sacred Heart University, Dartmouth and Fairfield University. Kelly Tamborrino, Assistant Director of Graduate Admission from Fairfield University, discussed the university and the graduate programs it offers.
“We have five different colleges with graduate programs,” Tamborrino said. “We have the College of Arts and Sciences, we have the Dolan School of Business. We also have our nursing program; it’s very popular. And we also have a school of engineering and computer science as well as education and human development.”
Tamborrino also described the purpose of Fairfield University’s presence at the fair.
“Students are coming from a variety of interests, so I’m collecting information from them, giving them information about our programs and helping them make decisions on next steps and further education for their future career,” Tamborrino said.
Some of UConn’s career programs and departments were at the career fair as well. The departments featured in the fair were Economics and Physiology & Neurobiology. Some of the other UConn programs that were at the fair were the International Student & Scholar Services, the Office of the Vice Provost for Graduate Education and the Business Graduate Programs.
Jakob Feltquate, a sixth-semester Communications student, said while he originally didn’t plan on coming to the career fair, he came to it and learned about an online internship program.
“I didn’t even plan on coming here at all,” Feltquate said. “One of my friends in my dorm brought me here. I would say it’s really cool so far. I talked to a table. They told me about this creative online social media internship that I can do at home, which I think is really nice.”