Southern Utah University’s Career Center hosts an annual job fair in the Ballroom of the Sharwan Smith Student Center, this year’s taking place on Wednesday, September 4th from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Here, students were able to learn about job opportunities with the school and many local businesses.
“One of the main reasons we lose students is financial reasons,” explained Brandon Street, Southern Utah University’s Career and Professional Development Director. Because of this, he highly believes that the job fair is a great place to consider for students in need of work or other financial support.
As students, there is the common struggle of being able to pay for school and everyday life. Balancing work, school, and social lives can be a challenge, but luckily, SUU offers a variety of resources that can be a tremendous help to students. There are ways students can receive assistance year round, and the University provides frequent events to ensure that everyone has options to best fit their needs.
During the previous semester, Career Center staff spent time finding local businesses, companies and other workplaces to include in the Job Fair. All recruits have shown great interest in hiring and supporting students at SUU.
There were a large variety of different jobs represented at the job fair, many of which being newly added this year. Workplaces ranged from fast food restaurants, on campus work and larger companies, such as the Leavitt Group, which created a variety of options to meet every student’s interests, schedules and financial needs.
Not only did this event help provide work for some students, it offered a professional, yet friendly environment. Students learned interview skills, met new people and listened to some good advice from local business owners and recruiters.
Staff Sergeant Harris with the U.S army described that his goal during this time was to give students the knowledge they may need and educate them about the benefits of being in the Army, specifically as a student. He mentions that “The Army can teach quality life skills and even pay for schooling”.
Brandon Street contends that one of the most common statements he gets from students is “I don’t know what I want to do”. Even so, the job fair can give students insights on work they may not have considered before, and even spark their interest in something new.
Around 900 students attended this year’s job fair, similar to past fair attendance. Street, along with the rest of the Career department at SUU, hopes to see a significant increase in the amount of students taking advantage of the resources offered at the job fair in upcoming years. In fact, this year’s fair held a giveaway for a brand new paddle board, in hopes of drawing more students in.
Students in need of jobs for any reason can look into attending future job fairs. The Career Center plans to acknowledge upcoming fairs that are geared towards juniors and seniors in search of a long term career or an internship with local businesses as well.
For anyone with questions or concerns regarding work while attending and after school, the Career Center is located on the second floor of the Sharwan Smith Student Center. Their staff can provide information on anything you may need to know when looking into current work and future careers.
Author: Briar Adams
Editor: Heather Turner
Photos Courtesy of SUU
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