Alumni Arena was filled with over 150 job and internship opportunities for students of all majors Thursday evening, making up the largest Career Fest hosted at UB.
According to Jessica Kroll, a senior sociology major and career peer advisor, Career Fest is intended to direct students towards internships or those who are on the way to employment.
"The purpose of this event is to bring a ton of companies that are seeking to employ students as interns or for full time jobs," Kroll said. "Students are given the opportunity to introduce their resumes and talk to potential employers about what jobs to look for."
Nagendra Raina, an associate marketing manager for Fisher Price, a regular Career Fest attendee, thought the turnout surpassed those of past events.
"We are jam-packed today with eager and determined students, Raina said. "We actually ran out of business cards already."
Career Fest offered a checklist of different job opportunities and a learning experience as well.
"This venue provides more than job seeking opportunities, but also educational opportunities," Raina explained. "Students can come in and in one glance, become acquainted with the job pool and get to know more on what is really going on in Western New York."
For students like Chris Nuzback, a sophomore business major, attending the event was more of a learning experience than a job opportunity.
"I'm an undergrad and it seems that everyone here are grad students, but I'm just trying to figure out what I should be looking for when I do start applying for internships. I want to hit the ground running when it comes to start applying to these types of things," Nuzback said. "I'm definitely glad I came. I didn't come with a serious agenda but just by shooting questions around, I've figured out what kind of major I'm trying to consider and how I could go about applying to get a cooperate job once I graduate."
For first-time attendants such as Building Controls and Services, Inc. (BCS), Career Fest was also a hit.
"This is our first time here and it has been an excellent turnout so far, it's fantastic," said Scott Drabek, regional manager facilities solutions at BCS. "Based on this response, the number of resumes and students walking up and the quality of the students, we will definitely be back again."
Many students like Stephanie Molnar, a junior history major, felt that fair was geared for business and engineer students.
"I was looking to see what companies would come and to see what kind of majors would be represented," Molnar said. "I was hoping there would be more tables requesting for the arts and science majors here. It seems like employers are all here for engineering and finance students. I am a history major so I was hoping to find something for that, but I haven't yet."
According to Kroll, the fair is for all majors since many of the employers have a lot of different positions for which students can apply.
"Today we are looking specifically for counselors, so students with a background in psychology, social work, or counseling in either entry level positions or advanced positions for students with their masters," explained a representative of Transitional services, Inc. "We do have a stack of resumes so far so and so we are hopeful."
The general reaction from students like Matt Lynch, a sophomore English major, was extremely positive.
"I came here to check things out and get a grasp of what's going on. I actually learned a lot," Lynch said. "I was surrounded by many influential professionals who were very business-minded."
