TSgt. Heather Cekovsky, right, a recruiter from the Massachusetts Air National Guard, explains some of the many programs available to Whitney Johnson, a student at Westfield State University, during a career fair staged at Scanlon Hall on the university campus yesterday. (Photo by Frederick Gore)
WESTFIELD – For the sixth straight spring, Westfield State University played host to the annual Spring Career and Graduate School Expo, an event which drew several hundred students donning their sharpest sport coats and slacks, gathering business cards and dishing out resumes to dozens of prospective employers and institutions.
“We probably had about 250 students here today. It’s been a consistent flow,” said Junior Delgado, director of the Career Center at the University. “Would we like to have 600 come through? Absolutely. But it’s been consistent.”
Delgado stated that the majority of representatives at the fair were coming from the leadership development, training, and management programs at companies, such as Penske and Kohl’s, along with non-profit organizations, and human service departments, in addition to police department recruiters and computer science companies.
One Penske representative, Tony Melino of Westford, was attending the fair just two years ago prior to his graduation from WSU in 2012, and said it was his attendance that got him his current job as an Assistant Rental Manager.
“I got it because of this fair,” he said. “I came in, put out my applications, and had a job before graduation.”
When asked what students should do when attending events such as the fair, the former business management major kept it simple.
“Be prepared, look up, and dress the part,” Melino said. “Talk to everyone and sell yourself.”
The students in attendance seemed to get the memo, donning their French collars and full Windsors in valiant attempts to win over the hearts and minds of potential employers.
Jillian M. Monahan, a Maine State Police trooper, explains some of the duties and responsibility of a Maine state trooper to Westfield State University students Adam Healey, center, and Bryan Ring, right, during a career fair at the university yesterday. (Photo by Frederick Gore)
“I’m just hoping to get my foot in the door and try to benefit myself after graduation,” said Dan Canavan, a senior from Barnstable. “I’m not trying to live with my parents.”
“I came here to find a job, so I don’t have to defer my loans for another two years,” said Canavan’s senior pal Jonny DiLeo of Franklin.
Law enforcement employees were out in full force. The Navy and Marine Corps were represented in full uniform in Scanlon Hall’s banquet hall for the event, along with the East Hartford Police Department and the Vermont State Police.
Schools such as Lesley University of Cambridge were showcased their counseling psychology and experimental therapies graduate programs.
“If you’re a painter, a dancer or an actor, these programs train you to help people through your art,” said Robin Laskey, M.Ed., C.A.G.S., associate director of the Office of Graduate and Adult Bachelor’s Admissions. “We’ve had 15 students inquire about the program. We might see about five applications. But for $100, they (Westfield State) provide a great service. I’m impressed with this school.”
Other schools in attendance included Babson, Bryant, Central Connecticut State and Suffolk.
“We’ve had an amazing turnout. Seventy-nine businesses and schools was our capacity,” said Giselle Abed, associate director of the WSU Career Center, adding that student turnout was good.
“It was pretty steady,” she said. “The fall fair is definitely the largest we do. We get about 600 to 700 students, while this one was closer to 300. But the employers all said they felt the students and candidates were well prepared.”
