Joseph Baroud and Fernando Bazan
Staff Writers
The two-day fall Career and Internship Expo took place this week, with hundreds of students converging in the Loker Student Union in hopes of finding the right internship and learning more about STEM-related and health science fields on Tuesday, and business, government, and public administration on Wednesday.
Organizations laid their banners over the tables and set a variety of fliers, forms, pens, and goodies in an effort to capture the attention of students. There were 15 tables in total for students to view. Most students interviewed said they were in hopes of finding a good internship.
“A friend came last year and found a cool internship, so I am hoping to get the same luck,” said Jenner Carbonell. “I just talked to an animal shelter representative and while it’s a bit odd at this expo I actually might go for it.”
There were returning companies who have found success recruiting students at the expo in the past. One example is Fasten Goods.
“We seem like a company that no one really goes into this expo looking for, but we’ve gotten about 12 kids excited to apply for us,” said Scott Rob the district manager of Fasten Goods. “Our business deals with a lot of home appliance sales, several students who have interned with us usually end up recommending a friend.”
Another company that has been successful at these expos is Ross.
“This is our third year here and we always get around seven to eight people who stick with the program and stay with our company,” said Jorge Aragon the Ross store representative. “I went through the process and now I am opening my own Ross store next month.”
For the past two years, the expo was a much bigger affair in the spring, but the CSUDH Career Center decided to divide it into two smaller expos on consecutive days and a bigger one in the spring.
“The concept that we envisioned for the industry-specific expos were to tailor it specifically towards one industry,” said Punita Patel, a CSUDH career and professional development coach. “It might give more of a career focus for those particular students to come to these expos.”
Patel, Cathi Curen, and Brenda Mendez are all with the career center. They helped organize the event and hosted the sign-in table at the entrance. Patel said narrowing the event according to student’s specializations would make it easier for them to take it all in.
“We like to try and have it smaller just so we can have students and also our companies have more of an intimate setting,” Patel said. “Where it doesn’t seem so overwhelming.”
“It’s not just about these events,” Curen said. “It’s about developing relationships so that students know who good employers are who supports and looks for our students.”
