Nearly 300 students mingled with representatives from 45 diverse organizations at the Becker Career Center’s annual Career Fair.
On this snowy evening, students warmed up to the opportunity to connect with employers to discuss internship, postgraduate and gap year opportunities; broaden their knowledge about various fields; and practice the fine art of networking.
“There was really great energy in the room,” said Rochelle Caruso, the career center’s senior associate director. “Employers enjoyed talking with our students, and students told us they enjoyed interacting with the different organizations.”
“This was the first Union career fair I attended, and I must say that it was an amazing experience,” said Bessena Cabe ’13, who is studying mechanical engineering and economics. “Every employer there was eager not only to speak to students about their jobs and their company, but also took interest in what students are learning in school. I had a great time working the fair and talking to employers.”
Bessena had already contacted several employers about summer internships, including AngioDynamics, which does research in biomedical instrumentation and which was represented at the fair.
Vanessa Athanas ’11, a Spanish major who also was attending for the first time, found the Becker staff helpful and the employers accessible. “I got several new leads on possible internships,” she said.
Elizabeth Lehmann ’12, an interdepartmental major in political science and Chinese, attended for the second straight year.
“There was good variety of employers, from finance to government and non-profits,” Lehmann said. “It was a professional atmosphere. No matter what your interests, even if the contacts don’t lead to anything, it’s still good practice to present yourself to employers. After all, we’ll be out there in the real world in no time.”
Among the employers represented at this year’s event were AngioDynamics, AXA Advisors, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Garnet River, GE Corporate, GlobalFoundries, Siemens Energy, SRC Inc., State Farm Insurance, STRIDE Adaptive Sports, Teach for America, Union Graduate College, University at Albany School of Public Health and the U.S. Department of State.