Radford STEM majors explore opportunities at career and internship Fair

students and professionals meet to discuss career and internship opportunities
One of almost 200 Radford students and prosepctive interns and employees chats with an industry representative at the STEM Internship and Career Fair.

Students and industry representatives networked before the booths that filled the main floor of the new Center for the Sciences at the STEM Career and Internship Fair on Feb. 24.

Employers from nearly 20 companies including Dish Network, IBM, Wells Fargo, TechLab, and Solers were present at Radford’s Career Center’s STEM Internship and Career Fair. The first event held in the new Center for the Sciences was a showcase of the new building and Radford’s dedication to science.

Students had the opportunity to converse with employers one-on-one and explore particular industries and employment opportunities. Students also had professional headshots made, courtesy of the Alumni Relations office.

Matt Wallace, a junior computer science major, attended the event to find more information about the opportunities and internships available to him.

“This is great because I have the opportunity to find out about internships but, more importantly, I get experience talking to employers,” said Wallace. “This is a more comfortable environment and one that can definitely prepare me for future interviews.”

Ellen Taylor, Career Center coordinator, said the goal of the internship fair is to get students to think about their future and their transitions from Radford to the professional world.

“This is a great opportunity even for freshmen and sophomores. While they may not have a lot of experience or the academic knowledge as of yet, it’s important for them to begin making these connections,” said Taylor. “Employers will remember students who’ve come in the past.”

TechLab's Alyson White ‘02 understands the value and importance of the career fair.

“It’s such a great opportunity for students,” said White. “We love to hire alumni, we’ve looked at the profiles of our employees and we have so many who’ve graduated from Radford. It’s nice to come back, speak with current students and see how competitive Radford truly is.”

Alumni are a great resource for Radford’s Career Center as employers at the various career fairs held throughout the year. Although not every company is able to attend the fair, the Career Center is often able to connect students with employers from virtually any company, according to Taylor.

"It's important for students to get familiar with the services we have to offer at the Career Center," said Taylor. "We have many resources available and are very willing to work with any specific needs a student may have."

The Career Center will be hosting its next career fair on March 18 in the Peters Gym. The fair will bring in employers from the education field and will be open to all students, alumni and professionals interested in learning more about career opportunities in K-12 education.

Mar 1, 2016