By Luke Frantz and Joseph McVey, Feb. 14, 2023
On Feb. 7 school districts from all over California visited Cal Poly Pomona, inviting students to speak with potential future employers with the chance of gaining more information on open jobs in the area.
This event offered opportunities for students to see possible avenues they could take after graduating and featured 54 different employers from all over the Southern California are, many of which being alumni from CPP and neighboring colleges.
“I’m really glad that I did come because I’m getting a lot of information,” said CPP student Felix Terrones. “Being able to talk to these districts has really eased my stress and helped prepare me for what’s to come.”
Terrones attended the event as an assignment for one of his classes and was grateful to be urged by their professor afterwards. Giving students an extra push in the right direction can lead to unforeseen opportunities they may have otherwise missed.
Sylvia Cruz, a recruiter for Seneca Family of Agencies, gave some insight on what some employers may be looking for and what opportunities they could give to students attending the event.
“This event helps us get our word out, our missions, our values and helps provide opportunities to students on campus that are looking to expand their career in mental health and education,” said Cruz.
These events are geared toward students wanting to get a head start on their future but also hold equal value to those employers searching for young talent to strengthen their education programs.
“The impact that we hope to have is to really explain what we’re about, hopefully connect on similar values and hopefully provide some opportunities that students from Cal Poly can use to expand and professionally develop their skills,” said Cruz.
Andy Perez, who is currently enrolled in the credential program at CPP, enjoyed going to his first expo, connecting with employers who not too long ago were in the same position as him.
“I gained an immense amount of knowledge, you know, some of these career fair recruiters are principals, teachers and administrators and they gave a lot of insight on what their experience was like in the credential program,” said Perez. “I’m hoping to take away some positive relationships that I’ve built with some of these districts and hopefully that leads to employment in the future.”
Events like these are common between all school districts but the aftermath of the pandemic put a halt to many of these venues. As a result, many of these events switched to an online format creating an odd environment with dwindling attendance and less meaningful connections between employers and students.
A representative from the Corona-Norco Unified School District and CPP alumni, Deanne Reyes provided information on why it is important for the return of in person events.
“Being able to visit a recruitment table versus going online has a different impact, in regard to a personal relationship for employers to employee,” said Reyes. “For us to be able to speak to someone live, show them what they have, ask the questions, be available instantaneously is important. If they have a question, we’re able to connect differently when we’re in person.”
Some students are still adjusting to post pandemic life and may often miss out on event details. Especially those just starting out their college career. Director of the Career Center, Tracee Passeggi, stressed the importance for all students to be involved in events like the career fair.
“I think it’s absolutely critical for students to be engaged in any kind of career readiness event,” said Passeggi. “Having an opportunity to come to a career fair even if they’re not ready to enter the job market is crucial for students so they can see what’s out there.”
Events such as these are constantly offered to students, advertised through handshake and campus wide emails. With a plethora of employers and fields, it is critical that students take advantage of these opportunities to make connections with professionals in their line of work.
The next event the career center has planned is a job fair taking place on Friday March 3. Events can be found under the events tab on Handshake for students looking to get job experience before they graduate.
Feature image by Joseph McVey
