Amy Piper, a SUNY Fredonia alumnus and principal of Wheelock Early Childhood Center, discusses opportunities in the Fredonia Central School District with Macy Short, Holly Rohrbach and Alissa Dixon.
What do “prepared,” “confidence” and “inquisitive” have in common?
They’re among traits alumni returning to campus as recruiters for their employers found in abundance among students attending the Job & Internship Expo.
We had 80 employers and nearly 300 students, which was our best student turnout since before the pandemic. Clearly that’s a significant uptick of 30 percent from expos in recent years.” - CDO Senior Associate Director Chris LaGrow
“Students came prepared with questions and true interest in seeking internships or employment opportunities,” reported Joel Blasdell, supervisor of Special Education: Staffing and Program, at Buffalo Public Schools.
“One characteristic that I feel stood out to me was confidence and really knowing what they wanted to do post-graduation or even some type of internships that would give them the skills they need to learn and know what career they want to go into once they graduate,” observed Olivia Vinci, of Northwestern Mutual in Buffalo, NY.
“The students who approached my booth were friendly, inquisitive and ready to make a good impression,” remarked Amy Piper, principal of Wheelock Early Childhood Center in the Fredonia Central School District.
By virtually every measure, this year’s Job & Internship Expo held March 4 was a resounding success, according to the Career Development Office (CDO).
“We had 80 employers and nearly 300 students, which was our best student turnout since before the pandemic,” reported CDO Senior Associate Director Chris LaGrow. Clearly that’s a significant uptick of 30 percent from expos in recent years. Businesses, non-profits, agencies, as well as other organizations sought out soon-to-be graduates and/or students investigating internship opportunities.
More first-year students and sophomores attended, according to Mr. LaGrow, and their feedback about the expo as a career learning experience was also very positive. A strong turnout by Advancing Completion through Engagement (ACE) program students also helped to boost the numbers.
SUNY Fredonia alumni also return to their alma mater to represent their employers and to meet students and discuss their futures at the expo.
It was refreshing to engage with students during the job fair, commented Jennifer Lurz, a speech and language pathologist at Southtowns Children’s Associates in Orchard Park, NY.
“I felt as though the students were well prepared to discuss potential job opportunities,” added Ms. Lurz, who received a M.S. in Speech-Language Pathology in 1998. “We had some students that wanted to hear about our company despite having a different career path in mind.”
Licensed speech pathologists at Southtowns Children’s Associates enjoy supervising graduate student clinicians from SUNY Fredonia, Lurz added.
“This connection between SUNY Fredonia and Southtowns Children's Associates is wonderful as it creates opportunities for students to learn about speech pathology and early childhood development as well as giving our licensed speech pathologists experience in expanding their supervisory skills,” she added.
Students meeting Ms. Piper seemed eager to hear about the school district and what openings might be available in the future. They were ready to make a good impression, she said.
“Fredonia Central School District has a long history of bringing students on campus for field placements, observations and student teaching. We also love to hire SUNY Fredonia graduates!” noted Piper. She received a B.S. in Elementary Education in 1990 and Advanced Certificates in School Building Leadership and School District Leadership in 2008 and 2014, respectively.
Students were prepared with questions and true interest in seeking internships or employment opportunities, agreed Mr. Blasdell.
Buffalo Public Schools is no stranger to the SUNY Fredonia campus. The district has a supervisor dedicated to assisting potential students to pathways to join New York state’s second-largest school system, he added. That representative attends many recruitment events and has made SUNY Fredonia a destination every year.
“The college has a wealth of excellent professors who have been dedicated to educating students for many years. It is great to come network with some of my old professors on potential recruitment projects,” added Blasdell, a 2006 graduate with a bachelor’s degree in Adolescence Education: Social Studies. He also received a M.S.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction, 2009, and an Advanced Certificate in School Building Leadership in 2013.
Citigroup Global Markets Inc. has multiple internship programs that lead directly to employment offers, said Michael McMasters, vice president – security and derivatives senior manager, of Getzville, NY, and actively looks for recent graduates to fill positions. It was surprising to see, he observed, so many Computer Science students at the expo who are interested in roles in banking and finance.
“Many students had really good questions and were well prepared,” said Mr. McMasters, a 2016 graduate who majored in Economics and Business Administration – Finance.
Northwest Mutual brings students on board for internships and hires graduates, said Ms. Vinci, who earned a degree in Criminal Justice in 2021 and had minors in Psychology and Sociology. Internships there are held during fall and spring semesters. “The goal of this internship program is to find individuals to come work with us full-time post-graduation,” she said.
Alumni enjoyed returning to campus. Piper finds a welcoming nature of employees, staff and professionals is always present. Blasdell still resides locally, so he and his daughter walk the nature trails. Vinci enjoyed driving through the campus and town to reminisce about old times spent here.
