Elle Love
CONTRIBUTOR
No one likes the feeling of being too late for internships and jobs, especially with the lack of summer plans. The Academic and Career Development Center (ACDC) provides students a second chance by hosting the Summer Opportunities Fair.
“The Summer Opportunities Fair is geared towards students who are looking for ‘just in time’ employment,” said Sammi Kaiser, Director of ACDC. “It could be an internship, part-time, or a full-time.”
ACDC hopes to accommodate student needs “because we know those moments happen of ‘wait, I didn’t get something necessary lined up this summer,” Kaiser said.
ACDC understands there are employers with open job positions and students seeking them. “That’s where professionals in ACDC are connecting students with these opportunities,” Kaiser said.
The Summer Opportunities Fair brings employers to campus where students are. “I think it creates an environment that’s safe and comfortable for students to practice and get themselves out there in a professional way as they are looking for jobs,” Kaiser said.
Kaiser said the feedback from both students and employers each year is overwhelmingly positive. “We hear from the employer side that they are always impressed with the career-readiness aspects of our students in how they are articulating their experiences, how they are well-dressed, and well prepared,” Kaiser said. “That’s something we take a lot of pride in because we work hard in this office to help prepare students for that.”
Union Pacific senior recruiter Jonathan Fast said there’s nothing greater than meeting students in person to decide whether the person will be a good fit for their company. “We decided that this is a great opportunity for us to get out… and make sure they are aware these great year-round internships here for the next year,” Fast said.
Fast also said Union Pacific always looks forward to come to UNO because “it is the number one school to recruit students for professional jobs.” “We hire more people from UNO than any other college,” he said. “We value their partnership with Union Pacific greatly.”
Kayser said students are “overwhelmingly happy” with the variety of options available to them on campus. “I think that it’s sometimes the challenge because students don’t know what they can discover at the career fair because it’s really just going,” Kaiser said.
Computer Science Major Nataliya Zhuromskaya said it was nerve-wracking to meet employers face-to-face at first. “Everyone is pretty friendly here,” Zhuromskaya said. “They are trying to get people interested in their field or their company.”
She prepared for the Summer Opportunities Fair by working on her resume and researched the companies that matched her field interests. She said the experience made her want to do more in-depth research on the companies. “It’s a great opportunity to see how job searching works,” Zhuromskaya said.
Fast said ACDC is one of the things they like about the Opportunities Fair. “They are very organized, the students are knowledgeable about Union Pacific,” he said. “It’s an easier sell to tell students about us.”
ACDC also helps prepare students for career fairs through Handshake. “Through Handshake, students can schedule career advising appointments online with us and it can be anytime,” Kaiser said.
Kaiser said ACDC is working hard to connect students to opportunities. “If you’re at all nervous or unsure about how to get started, I would say the great first step is to come in and talk to us,” Kaiser said. “We can help you work towards that clear direction and what steps you can take.”
