The Ramsey Center on Wednesday, Oct. 1, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. was packed to the brim with WCU students and potential employers that came to the Career Fair.
The event was organized by the Center for Career and Professional Development with around 100 businesses, public organizations and schools participating in the first career fair this academic year.
“Many students may not realize that an accounting major can work for a construction company, or an IT person can work for a school system. A lot of times these events are meant to encourage students to think outside their normal box of working for a company that does exactly what their major is, as there are so many jobs that make a business run,” Meredith Yarborough, associate director of employer engagement at CCPD wrote in an email.
The Center for Career and Professional Development, or the CCPD, brings together potential employers and graduate schools searching for new talent twice a year. Police Departments from Asheville, Winston-Salem, and Sylva were all present, along with employers like Optima Engineering, NC Public Safety, the NC Department of Adult Corrections, the NC State Bureau of Investigation, and even Waffle House.
Multiple graduate schools were also in attendance. A High Point University admissions representative, Sam Roberts, is a WCU alum and was promoting his new employer and school.
“Graduate schools offer more hands-on experience than traditional colleges and they cover almost every major Western has. A master’s degree can be a valuable thing in the job market,” Roberts said.
WCU students came to the fair in greater numbers than before and had the most to say. For WCU freshman in engineering, Zack Smith, this was the first such event.
“By far the biggest career fair I’ve been to. I’m kind of used to applying online. I’ve attended several other universities, and this is the first one that had a career fair this scale,” he said.
About 1000 students and alumni attended the two fairs last week. CCPD data from student card swipes showed 802 students that attended the Fall Career Fair and 183 attended the Construction Fair.
The Construction Industries Fair was on Sept. 30 and happens once an academic year. This is the first year where CCPD had the event back-to-back with the Career Fair Plus event. According to Yarborough students attending this fair could also participate in a networking lunch with employers.
“These events are important to employers as this is their direct contact to some of the best new talent that will be coming to the job market in the next few months or years. Western Carolina University has a reputation with many employers of providing hard working students who are ready to enter the workforce.” Yarborough wrote.
Representatives for businesses often strolled back and forth across the court approaching people, making conversation and handing out business cards. There were also keepsakes and knickknacks for different universities and internships: hand sanitizer, stress balls, flags, stuffed animals, fidget spinners, sunglasses, etc.
Career Fair PLUS+ also covers volunteer programs, community outreach, and networking supplementary to job and internship experience to diversify each student’s goals for what they want from the event. On the CCPD’s website for registration, they include “This is a great chance for employers to market your available positions/internships and meet our amazing WCU students early in their career!”
The Health and Human Sciences Career Expo is on Oct. 23 from 11 a.m. at the HHS building. This fair is for students within WCU College of Health and Human Sciences that are in Athletic Training, Communication Science and Disorders, Emergency Medical Care, Environmental Health, Integrated Health Sciences, Nursing, Nutrition and Dietetics, Physical Therapy and Recreational Therapy looking for jobs, internships, and shadowing experiences.
“We are capping our employers for that event at 20. We have been inviting employers that specifically fit the criteria for those student’s majors to ensure those students have a chance to talk with professionals in their potential career fields,” Yarborough said.
