by Taylor Choquette, intern, WSU ’18
The annual Job & Internship Fair was held in Scanlon Hall at Westfield State University. (Photo by Taylor Choquette)
WESTFIELD – On April 4, students at Westfield State University put on their best professional attire and headed to Scanlon Hall in hopes of finding post-graduate employment.
The school’s annual Job & Internship Fair ran from 1 to 4 p.m. and featured nearly 100 companies, mostly from the Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Connecticut area in the Loughman Living Room and Banquet Hall in Scanlon.
Junior Delgado, director of the Career Center at Westfield State, was pleased with this year’s event. “The student turnout was impressive and employers were extremely happy with the quality of potential hires,” said Delgado, “Many employers spoke highly of their time and look forward to returning and recruiting at Westfield State.”
While the fair is open to the general public, the focus of many companies was to recruit college students for entry level positions and internships. “That’s why we come to these fairs, to recruit kids right out of college,” explained Julia, a recruiter from Barton Associates.
“I had the opportunity to speak with recruiters that work in the field of my major and branched out to speak to some that I wouldn’t have thought of considering,” WSU senior Anna Florczak said as she described her experience at the career fair.
Local companies, like WWLP-22 News, Yankee Candle and even various police departments were on campus to recruit students of all majors, and students in any year of their education were encouraged to attend.
“The career fair is a great opportunity for students to get a taste of Western Mass jobs,” said Carson Barcome, a senior at WSU. Barcome, a Communication major, like many students in attendance was hoping to get a lead on a job as commencement is quickly approaching. “It’s something every student should attend,” said Barcome.
Students generally found that this was a helpful way to learn about opportunities in the area because it brought companies directly to their campus. “It was well worth going because I received a lot of information about possible job opportunities,” said Florczak.
This Job & Internship Fair is the second career fair held on campus this year, and WSU’s largest career fair.
