On Feb. 28, Oswego State’s annual career fair brought over 80 employers together in the Swetman Gymnasium to provide students and alumni job opportunities they would not get the rest of the year.

“It’s not often that you can bring 80 organizations who are looking for great talent around internships, part-time and full-time positions, right to campus,” said Gary Morris, director of career services. “It serves as a launching point for a lot of our students to find and then secure wonderful opportunities related to their professional development.”

Morris said that according to analyses of past career fairs, there are generally about 750 conversations about specific opportunities with organizations that take place during the career fair. Several hundred are focused on the next step, such as interviews and other opportunities. The career fair in general, he said, serves three purposes.

“One is career exploration, so students who want to explore a variety of careers can show up and talk to professionals from a variety of industries,” Morris said. “Two, underclass students can use this as an opportunity to find internships…Three, our graduating seniors have access to employers who are looking to hire full-time, post-graduation opportunities.”

Julia Perston-Fulton, a Mericorps member at Oswego City/County Youth Bureau, said the career fair provided her organization the unique ability to speak to students about opportunities to work with children over the summer.

“We love it, especially because the campus is helping us [by] giving us a time to interview students right on campus,” Perston-Fulton said.

Lindsay Amendola, store team leader at Target, said Target has been a part of Oswego State’s career fair for eight years because of the skills students bring to the table.

“We always get talent out of Oswego,” Amendola said. “We spend a lot of time here, and we really enjoy it.”

Morris said this is a sentiment expressed by numerous employers who participate in the career fair.

“Invariably, [employers are] always favorably comparing SUNY Oswego students and this event against other schools,” Morris said. “Our students are so impressive in person, and they come off as genuine, hard-working, honest, conscientious talent pool.”

Matt Duncan, a senior and business administration major, said the career fair provided a wide array of employer categories for students to explore.

“I think that there’s a good amount of people here, and the variety gives them a good number of sources,” Duncan said.

Ashly Cumbo, a senior and psychology major, said she appreciated being able to look at the different businesses in Oswego and Syracuse she was unfamiliar with after moving to the area.

“It’s definitely a great opportunity to know more organizations in the area since I’m new here,” Cumbo said. “Definitely great to open my eyes to how many opportunities are around us.”

Senior and art history major Allison Carpenter said once she got over the initial crowd, it was a welcoming and rewarding experience.

“It’s kind of intimidating when you first walk in because there’s a lot of people,” Carpenter said. “It’s cool that there’s a lot of stuff that’s offered.”

Morris said employers are generally able to work with students to make the best impression possible, even if this is their first career fair.

“For a lot of students, this is the first time they’ve ever been put in a position where they actually have to talk to a professional when it really matters,” Morris said. “Our students generally rise to the occasion, and if they kind of stumble, the employers that we bring on are excellent at helping students feeling comfortable.”

Senior and communications major Geoff Shumer said that approachability meant students could practice professional skills, even if the job they seek is not in the career fair’s lineup.

“There’s definitely a lot of different options here to explore,” Shumer said. “Even if you’re not looking for something [offered] here, it’s a good opportunity for interaction with experienced professionals.”

Morris said that because of the success of past career fairs, he expects Oswego State to continue hosting and expanding them for future students, bringing in more employers and opportunities for campus members.

“Our goal is to make it bigger and keep broadening the scope of employers that engage with our students,” Morris said. “From a career services perspective, it’s simply our job to provide a forum to bring those two primary audiences together in one physical space…That’s really where the magic happens.”

Photo: Taylor Woods | The Oswegonian