The Office of Career and Outreach Services held the 40th annual fall career fair and banquet last week, giving students the opportunity to meet with prospective employers and graduate schools.
The theme this year was “Forty Years of Success Without Limits,” paying homage to the people and companies in the past that have made these fairs successful.
Glenda Jones, director of the Office of Career and Outreach Services, is grateful for all of the support of students, staff, and companies that attend each year.
The career fair was held on Wednesday and Thursday. The first day of the fair featured companies for non-technical majors. Some of the companies in attendance included the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Lower Colorado River Authority, Houston ISD, and Dallas Police Department.
The next day, over 60 companies came for the technical majors. A lot of returning companies continuously hire Prairie View students, such as Lockheed Martin Corp., Chevron, Shell, and CenterPoint Energy.
Kayla Johnson, a recent Prairie View graduate who now works at Johnson Controls, returned to the career fair to help recruit students for her company. Johnson said, “It is important to me that I help recruit here because it’s my alma mater, and I know the students here are academically competitive and ready for these jobs.”
There were also graduate schools and programs looking to interest soon-to-be graduating students.
The University of Kentucky, Houston Graduate School of Theology, and Iowa State University were in attendance for the students interested in obtaining masters degrees or enter Ph. D. programs.
This year’s career fair was another successful one, resulting in many students leaving with interviews and some with job opportunities. Students should always go to the career fair even if they are not quite ready for a job.
There are plenty of internships and co-op opportunities with many companies that will help students reach their goals in life.