Galloway, N.J. – Making a biannual event feel fresh and new is a challenge. Thankfully, Sofia Abreu
is not only up for it but eager to knock it out of the park.
Abreu, a 2011 graduate of Stockton University, serves as director of Stockton’s Career Education & Development (CED).
Since joining the CED office, she has made it her mission to support students in their
career journeys through increasing the office’s visibility on campus, providing networking
opportunities throughout the academic year and making improvements to the biannual
Career & Internship Fair through partnerships both within and outside of the university.
According to Abreu, this spirit of collaboration is what made this year’s fair, hosted
in the Sports Center on Thursday, Oct. 9, a success with over 100 employers and more
than 1,200 students in attendance.
Working with Faculty to Provide Guidance for Students
According to the team, participation in events like Resume Rush has grown significantly
over the years. This fall’s resume reviewing events had staff and faculty volunteers
from across the campus and attracted over 200 students.
💭 STUDENT THOUGHTS
“This is the best Career and Internship Fair that Stockton has had yet. You guys have
something for every major in here,” Nanshalle Ali-Smith, a Political Science major from Sicklerville, said. When asked how she got prepared
for the fair, she shared some advice for fellow students. “Just put your best suit
on, come out here and introduce yourself – that’s all you’ve got to do. Shake some
hands, say ‘Hi, my name is,’ and it’ll take you a long way.”
As an example of how helpful faculty members were to Resume Rush, Dayna DeFiore, assistant
director and career coach for CED, shared that an adjunct faculty member, Ashley Sardoni,
brought her entire class to the Oct. 2 workshop.
“She really invested in preparing the students for the event by assigning and teaching
basic resume instructions and requiring them to have a foundational document to bring
to ensure that the conversation was more meaningful. They then had to follow up by
submitting a final version of their resume,” DeFiore said. “That was a great example of how career readiness lessons can be infused meaningfully
into the classroom through faculty partnership.”
Jacklyn Kwarteng, a senior Hospitality, Tourism and Event Management major, said Resume Rush helped structure and format her many volunteer and internship
experiences into a document she was proud to show recruiters at the Oct. 9 fair.
The Eagleswood Township resident believes every student should take advantage of events
like the rush, saying that it “definitely helped me get prepared for the Career Fair.”
“There were actual hiring managers who, if you apply somewhere, they’re the people
that actually read your resume and look at it, so they have the experience of reading
resumes, and they know what employers are looking for,” Kwarteng said. “So. I would
definitely say go because they really give very helpful information.”
💭 STUDENT THOUGHTS
This year’s fair marks Visual Communications junior Melissa Golembieski’s first-ever. After transferring from Brookdale Community College, she is now looking
towards her post-graduate future and exploring the job market.
“I feel like (being here) is getting me some exposure to other opportunities that
are out there, even if I’m not going up to every table,” Golembieski said. “Just seeing
other things that are out there has been a little eye-opening in the sense that I
get to see what’s out there and interact with recruiters versus just looking at it
on social media.”
During the Oct. 9 fair, various faculty members were seen with their classes, including
Professor of Hospitality and Tourism Management Studies Donna Albano and her introductory
class. Although her class is made up of primarily first- and second-year students,
Albano has made it her mission to bring them to the fair every time it’s on campus
for the last 22 years.
“I don’t miss an opportunity to show appreciation to the employers who come here,”
Albano said. “And I want to make sure students experience this early, because some
of them are a little nervous about doing this. For many of them, this is their first
Career Fair.”
Students Vincent Bartolone and Daniel Guy in the Stockton Hospitality program appreciated
the opportunity to attend the fair during their usual class time with Albano.
“It’s nice learning about new opportunities that are out there, seeing what’s out
there for us and what we could do with what we’re learning,” said Bartolone, a first-year
student from Hammonton.
“I got to talk to a couple of different people and find out some stuff I didn’t really
know about, like becoming a police officer, and some more in-depth stuff that I wouldn’t
want to just Google,” Guy, a sophomore from Ocean City, said.
Partnering with Alumni to Prepare and Hire Students
According to Abreu, alumni participation continues to grow year after year, whether
they’re in the Decompression Zone or part of the 60+ alumni actively recruiting students
behind the tables.
“It really livens the event, and seeing the students engaging with the alumni is truly
my favorite part,” Abreu said.
“It’s important because we always drive home to our students the importance of networking,
and there’s no better person than a fellow Osprey to help our current students make
meaningful connections in the world of work,” said Patrick Burns, assistant director
and career coach for CED.
During the fair, students had the opportunity to talk with Stockton alumni who volunteer
to give final checks on resumes and provide practical networking techniques in the
fair’s Student Decompression Zone.
For Biology major Mary Aribo, a simple conversation with an alumna led to her getting to know
another student better and being introduced to another alumna who plans to mentor
her.
“At first it was overwhelming, but it’s fun going to tables, talking to people and
meeting alumni who are willing to help you find what you need,” said Aribo, a North
Jersey resident who originally hails from Lagos, Nigeria. “If I didn’t come here today,
I would have never known about the opportunities, people and the connections.”
💭 ALUMNI THOUGHTS
Marsha McCarthy, a 1991 Liberal Studies graduate living in Ocean City, has worked in higher education
for 25 years and has been teaching within Stockton’s Business program since January.
She praises Stockton and the biannual Career and Internship Fair, saying, “Stockton
does it best when it comes to career fairs. Students who come will be in great shape after spending a couple of hours here.”
When they weren’t proofing resumes, alumni were among the over 100 employers in attendance
actively recruiting students for entry-level roles, seasonal positions and internship
opportunities.
Louis Pron, who works as a fraud analyst for the fantasy football app Sleeper, is
a 2017 dual degree graduate from Middletown. He shared that being on campus and seeing
how much it has grown over the years has been “pretty interesting,” and that being
a recruiter has been a full-circle moment for him.
“It’s awesome being on the other side of the table. I did the fall and spring fair every year as a student, just walking around,” Pron
said. “It’s cool being on the other side and talking to people who were in my shoes
at one point, and I hope I can do for someone what someone did for me all those years
ago: to give them an internship.”
Ahn Nguyen, a 2016 graduate of the Accounting program currently living in Egg Harbor Township, shared the same perspective, adding
that she “can feel their pain” regarding students being on challenging job searches.
“But this fair is a really good opportunity for them to practice talking to employers
and to see what the market is like for them as a student,” said Nguyen, who works
within Alloy Silverstein in Cherry Hill. “This is the second year for me, coming back
to campus for the firm, and I will definitely come back. We love it.”
– Story by Loukaia Taylor
– Photos by Susan Allen
Annual Event Links Students with Jobs, Internships
March 4, 2025
100 employers ready to connect with more than 1,000 Stockton University students.
Galloway, N.J. – No matter where a student is on their professional development journey – on the hunt
for internships, trying to land their first job, or even looking to transition into
a new industry – events like the Career & Internship Fair will remain in their corner throughout it all.
The Tuesday, March 4 fair in the Sports Center teemed with more than 100 employers
ready to connect with more than 1,000 Stockton University students. One of those employers, Spring Oak Senior Living, has not only returned to recruit students but to sponsor the fair for a third time.
“What I really love about this event is that I have the opportunity to, not only speak
to students about Spring Oak, but I also have the opportunity to speak to them about
their actual career paths. I have the opportunity to, as a recruiter, recommend what
path they should pursue and offer resume, social media and LinkedIn tips,” said Courtney
Jefferson, who works as a Recruiting & Onboarding Specialist for Spring Oak.
“Honestly, this environment and community is an amazing opportunity to optimize networking,
and you just never know how you’re going to land your next gig,” Jefferson continued.