SUCCESS: Career Fair Gets The Job Done

Last Wednesday, Southern University’s Career Services Center hosted the Fall Career Fair. The goal of this career fair is to connect students with potential employers. The career fair was great for students seeking post-grad employment or internships. Students put on their business professional attire and prepared their resumes to show to over fifty potential employers.
The event was held inside the F.G. Clark Activity Center. Students were required to have a Handshake account in order to be admitted into the fair. They were also advised to bring multiple copies of their resumés for the companies and corporations to see. When students first arrive, they signed in and received a personalized name tag. There was also a 360 photo booth for students and complimentary headshots were available.
One of the many recruiters that attended the career fair was Dennis Jackson from the Houston Independent School District. “We are trying to build our partnerships in the state of Louisiana, and I understand that there is a wealth of talent at Southern University. I noticed that we did not have a partnership with Southern University, and I wanted to change that,” said Jackson. His goal was to find teachers to put in H.I.S.D classrooms.
Another partner of this semester’s career fair was Hershey’s Chocolate. According to Jeff Dutton, the regional sales leader of Hershey, Hershey is looking for many different majors including marketing, business, communications, and finance.
Even the nation’s very own Secret Service showed up to the career fair. Recruiter and Special Agent Michael Monegan is a SU alumni, and had a few words to say. The United States Secret Service wants to expand diversity within its agency. “We have representation from all of the HBCUs, and our incentive of coming to Southern University is finding qualified applicants to improve and diversify our workforce.”
Students had a lot of positive feedback regarding the career fair. Our 92nd Miss Southern University, Briana Hall, a Shreveport native, said, “I appreciated the career fair because it exposed the SU student body to more opportunities in different careers that we would not normally see on a daily basis.”
Kori Toliver, a senior communications/criminal justice major from New Orleans, asserted, “I benefit from attending the career fair by networking with different people from Louisiana and different states. Southern University could improve the career fair by bringing more companies that appeal to all of the majors… for example bringing in news stations or B.E.T for the broadcast journalism majors, etcetera.”
Overall, the career fair was beneficial for anyone that attended. It happens each semester on Southern University’s main campus and could be a stepping stone towards a bright future for all.