Career and Internship Expo cultivates opportunity
More than 150 potential employers came to Minnesota State University, Mankato’s Career and Internship EXPO, held Tuesday and Wednesday in the Centennial Student Union Ballroom.
Companies came to the EXPO looking for interns and employees. Tuesday’s batch was here to find students from the College of Science, Engineering, & Technology and the College of Education.
Wednesday’s companies were mostly waiting for students from the College of Business, College of Humanities & Social Sciences, and College of Allied Health & Nursing. Students could mingle with company representatives, discuss internships and conduct impromptu interviews.
The main goal of students was to find an internship or a job opportunity. Kamel Mohammed, an international student majoring in Computer Science, heard about these opportunities and started to search for a good fit.
“My plan is to find an internship for international students and, when I graduate, I will probably look for a place that will help me work and get my experience,” said Mohammed.
Many students were able to communicate with companies and acquire contacts, which can help with future internships or jobs. Most of the students attended such an event for the first time but were satisfied with the number of companies and opportunities.
The Career and Internship EXPO was also useful for companies. Organizations attending the event are looking for young and talented students. Larger organizations can offer students a summer internship in other states, which is an interesting opportunity to gain experience.
“There have been a lot of internship interests [from students], specifically today from engineering students or IT students, which is great and kind of what I was expecting for the day today,” said Alyssa Rands, the recruiting specialist for Mediacom Communications Corporation. “At this time our company, in our closest to the Mankato area, is looking for full-time employment opportunities but we do offer some of our internships, specifically in New York. We have a variety of different positions and talk to students about that opportunity and the opportunity to travel to New York for the summer.”
Students had the opportunity not only to communicate with companies of interest but also to take professional photos for their resumes and portfolios. The event was attended by a professional photographer who took more than 150 photos Tuesday. Students will receive the finished photos via e-mail and will be able to use them in their own professional papers.
Header Photo: Besides the opportunity to have professional photos taken, students were able to talk and conduct impromptu interviews with a multitude of different companies to connect students with future internships or jobs. (Asutosh Silwal/The Reporter)
Write to Amalia Sharaf at amal.sharafkhodjaeva@mnsu.edu