Job and internship expo offers opportunities for students

On Thursday, Sept. 30, organizations armed with fliers, pictures and posters flooded the Williams Center, hoping to fill their open positions. Fredonia's Career Development center, aided by Fredonia's technology incubator, hosted its first annual Job and Internship expo.

The expo brought in 45 organizations from on and off campus. The object of this new tradition was to allow organizations to speak directly with students interested in filling vacant internships or full time jobs within these organizations.

Of the 45 organizations present there were 36 offering internships, 18 seeking full-time employees, 14 seeking part-time employees and 11 looking for summer employees. Each organization brought literature and displays to help students become more aware of the opportunities they were offering.

There was a wide range of organizations looking for students from many different majors to fill these internship and job openings. Chris LaGraw, assistant director of Career Development at Fredonia, was the director of the event.

 "One thing I'm pretty happy about is how diverse the employers are here today," LaGraw said. "We have many from on campus, many off campus, many for human services, for business and finance, for communications, even for sports management. We tried to cover as many bases as we could," he added.

LaGraw feels internships are important because they can further a student's understanding and experience in a particular field. They also can give students an upper hand when it comes time to build a career.

Internships often serve as "auditions" as well; many students with internships end up being hired at that organization. By making internships more easily accessible through the expo, LaGraw hopes more students will find a career they will enjoy in the future.

Advanced Conservation Technology (ACT), a company based out of SUNY Fredonia's technology incubator, was one of the many organizations present. ACT creates "green" energy efficient building materials and supplies builders. These materials are designed to be better for the environment, as well as to decrease or eliminate the amount of money spent on utilities.

John Kennedy, marketing and promotions manager of ACT, spoke with students at the expo about the wide variety of positions available within this organization. He said the company is looking for students with many different interests, not just those interested in building technology. "I'm looking for grant writers. I'm also looking for video production majors to document building one of our buildings," Kennedy said.

Another organization in attendance at the expo was The Resource Center, which serves individuals with disabilities and their families. The center offers services ranging from group homes and nursing, to physical therapy and job placements for those with developmental disabilities.

Lisa Dehner, a recruitment specialist for The Resource Center, represented the organization at the expo.

"I hope to find some candidates for some positions that we have available," Dehner said. She also hopes that through talking with students who attended the expo, she will gain more knowledge about the types of careers students are looking for.

Many students from varying majors attended the expo. Amy Politi, a sophomore video production major, was one of them. "I feel like there are a lot of opportunities to get involved," Politi said. She also said that she believes the expo will be very beneficial to her.

The expo will return sometime next year. LaGraw hopes to increase the number of organizations in attendance, as well as the amount of positions available.