The University offered students the opportunity to attend the Communications, Arts & Entertainment Networking & Career Fair, as well as a site visit to USA TODAY offices in New York City, on Oct. 30. This trip is held annually by the University because of its importance concerning forging relationships with industries and organizations in New York City. About 80 University students attended the event and interacted with the 25 companies that presented.

The goal of the trip is to introduce students to creative industries and allow them to create relationships with alumni and other representatives who work in those fields. The representatives at the fair were encouraged to share stories about their experiences, career paths, internships, education, and advice for current students.

According to Associate Director of the Career Development Center Alison Ordonez, the trip is very important because “organizations within these industries and fields seldom recruit on college campuses, so we try to bring our students to the organizations that they have an interest in. Most deadlines for opportunities in these fields will not be until the spring semester, so this event gives students the opportunity to connect with representatives early on and to network with them in order to be prepared for when the deadlines arise.”

Before the Career Fair, the Career Development Center offered a field trip to USA TODAY. There were about 20 University students in attendance who heard from alumni and others at the organization as they discussed their current positions and career trajectory. Additionally, the students had the opportunity to tour the USA TODAY office which allowed them to understand the culture of this workplace. Overall, the trip not only provided the students with helpful information about this field of work, but it also allowed them to experience the environment first-hand.

Of the event, Jen LoBello ’19 said, “I like how it was just University students; it makes you feel like the University community is really there for you which is sometimes something you don’t get to experience on campus.”

Additionally, the Executive Undergraduate Intern for the Career Development Center Jill Britton ’19 said, “Because the University doesn’t have a formal communications or journalism program, it’s great that we have the Arts and Communications career fair and can network with people in the field and get advice for entering a creative field post-graduation.”