Increased numbers of both students and company representatives turned out Sept. 4
for the Davis College of Business and Economics’ annual job fair.
Now in its 19th year, the latest Firm Night hosted about 30 potential employers and
nearly 100 students in Radford’s accounting, economics, finance and information systems
programs. Since the pandemic passed, each Firm Night has seen annual attendance figures
rise, and a number of the visiting company’s representatives are Highlanders themselves.
“It was a little higher-energy this year,” said Associate Professor of Accounting
Mike Chatham, the faculty organizer. “The feedback from the students and the firms
showed it was another successful event.”
In 2024, the campus’s busy event schedule required Firm Night to be relocated to the
Student Recreation and Wellness Center, but this year the fair returned to its normal
stomping grounds – the stately walls of the Dean’s Conference Room on Kyle Hall’s
third floor.
“Several people told me it felt good to be back,” Chatham noted, and indeed the crowds
and the tables filled the large room’s sprawling floor.
Finance major Ben Rowland, a sophomore from Salem, Virginia, said he aspires to become
an auditor. While he’s still a few years away from graduating, he attended Firm Night
out of curiosity.
“I was honestly just trying to test the waters, to see what is out there and see what
different programs are hiring,” Rowland said. “I was also going there to see what
certain areas companies are looking to hire for more.
“They're looking for accounting majors, that's for sure, and financial advisors,”
he noted.
Rowland chatted with a number of companies and organizations, including JP Morgan
and Food City. He also spent time learning more about employment prospects with the
Internal Revenue Service.
“I did find that pretty interesting,” he recalled, noting that IRS agents “can do
book work and crunch numbers and stuff like that, but they are also out there in the
field, getting a little bit of adrenaline in the system.”
Ethan Gear, a senior who’s double-majoring in accounting and economics, will graduate
this spring. A native of Kent, England, Gear attended Firm Night and scored an interview
with a Virginia-based accounting firm. He said the job fair helps connect students
and companies in ways that extend beyond texts and emails.
“I just think it’s a brilliant opportunity to network with people, to give them a
face to put to the resume and to find out more about the firms and people you could
potentially work with,” Gear explained. “It's also a good learning experience to meet
all those professionals, and you're building your network.
“Honestly, it was the best experience I’ve had with networking with professionals,
to kind of share my experiences and also hear what they value at the firm and what
the work is like, too," he said.
“I definitely recommend it to anyone who's a business major, at least.”
Organizations at this year’s Firm Night included:
Auditor of Public Accounts
Becker Professional Education
Brown Edwards & Co. LLC
Carter Bank
Cherry Bekaert
Equitable Advisors
Ernst & Young LLP
Financial Services of Virginia
Food City/KVAT
Foti Flynn Lowen & Co.
Hantzmon Wiebel
Keiter
McMillion & McMillion PC
Montgomery County, Virginia (government)
Morgan Stanley
National Bank
National Bank of Blacksburg
PBMares
PFS Investments
Radford University Center for Career & Talent Development
Radford University Economic Development
Robinson, Farmer, Cox Associates
Ryan & Wetmore, PC
Sikich
Snyder Cohn, PC
Stewart & Co.
Thompson Greenspon
YHB CPA & Consultants
Food City
IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI)
