By the first hour and a half of the Keene State College Career and Internship Fair, almost 250 students were in attendance.
The fair, which was held on Friday, March 27, was noted to be the largest job fair ever hosted at KSC.
KSC Career Advisors Louise Ewing and Beverly Behrmann were eager to explain the success that the growing Career and Internship Fair has had over the last several years.
“The career fairs started here about eight years ago, and were hosted in the Rhodes Atrium because of how small they were,” Behrmann explained.
“Attendance of employers and students has nearly doubled in three years,” Behrmann continued.
“This is the largest career fair that Keene State [College] has ever hosted,” Ewing added, explaining that this semester’s fair had to be hosted in the Spaulding Gym to accommodate the 84 employers in attendance.
“Coordinating an event like this was exciting, to say the least,” Ewing said.
Sprinkled throughout the crowd of prospective employers were several KSC alumni, who returned to campus to staff tables at the job fair.
“It’s exciting to have [the alumni] back here as well,” Ewing said.
Colton McCracken / Equinox Staff
“Today we have representatives who are nonprofit, for profit and state agencies,” Berhmann said.
She continued, “It’s a really great opportunity for students to find internships and jobs, meet employers but also to network and practice their interviewing skills.”
Ewing agreed and added, “It’s really important for students to be coming to these kinds of events.”
Shannon Cavanaugh, a junior at KSC, attended the fair in hopes of finding an internship for the fall of her senior year.
“I’m mainly going around trying to connect faces with names and put my name out there a little more,” Cavanaugh explained.
Cavanaugh said she had contacted several employers via phone and email prior to the fair in a proactive attempt to be more memorable.
Though the Career and Internship Fair hosted at KSC was Cavanaugh’s first job fair, she said she thought the internship hunt was going relatively well for her.
“I feel like it’s organized really well. Personally, I’m a little overwhelmed,” Cavanaugh admitted.
She continued, “But that’s to be expected. I’m confident that I’ll find what I’m looking for today.”
KSC first-year Rob Rein also attended the fair in hopes of finding an internship.
“I could use an internship, or even a better summer job,” Rein said, “I think something like that would look good on a resume.” Rein continued, “But since I’m only a freshman, [employers] weren’t really interested.”
“They were looking more for upperclassmen. But they seemed impressed with what I had to offer and asked me to come back in a year or two,” he explained.
Rein said he plans on returning to the KSC-hosted job fairs in the following years to follow up with some employers he met.
“Since I’m a freshman, I felt like the whole thing wasn’t exactly geared toward me,” Rein explained. He continued, “It’s kind of hard to get an internship as a freshman, but it’s definitely a good way to get an idea of what to expect in the coming years.”
Ewing would agree that underclassmen could benefit from the fair, as well as upperclassmen.
“It’s not just for seniors. I think even first and second year students would benefit from going in and see what possibilities are out there,” Ewing explained.
Ewing continued, “All students have the chance to talk to employers and alumni about what they can be doing while at Keene so when they graduate they have more opportunities.”
Jill Giambruno can be contacted at jgiambruno@kscequinox.com
