Students from every class year and almost every major explored career opportunities and introduced themselves to potential employers at University Career Services’ 2024 Fall Career and Internship Expo on September 26.
More than 100 employers visited Taffner Field House, recruiting St. John’s students for full- and part-time positions, as well as experience-building internships. The four-hour career fair brought employers from sectors as diverse as health care, law enforcement, social services, and education.
Some employers were making return visits to St. John’s. Others, such as the social-service organization Kommissary, were visiting for the first time.
Born out of the COVID-19 pandemic, when it delivered fresh meals to 65 housebound families in Queens, NY, Kommisary’s Thoria Ali said the company now delivers more than 50,000 meals each day to destinations across New York City, including to migrant communities, the elderly, and to public schools.
“We share so many of St. John’s values; we both are so mission-focused,” said Ms. Ali, the company’s Human Resources Manager. “What better way to showcase our mission than to come to this great school?”
Employers ranged in size from smaller nonprofits such as Brooklyn, NY-based MercyFirst to Fortune 500 giants Bank of America, Broadridge Financial Solutions, and Deutsche Bank. Recruiters included St. John’s alumni Juan David Arrieta ’23TCB, representing Deutsche, and Ivans Esperance ’20TCB, ’21MS, representing the business consultancy Protiviti.
Mr. Esperance shared some advice with students in search of opportunities. “Take the initiative,” he said. “The more exposure you can get for yourself, the better. Building a network is so important. Students often do not realize how important who you know is when you are looking for a position.”
Among the students taking his advice were Nicole Jurski, a first-year Accounting major at The Peter J. Tobin College of Business, and Nikita Persaud, in the fourth year of a five-year Marketing Intelligence master’s degree program. Both are from nearby Briarwood, NY, but came to the expo with different motivations.
“As a first-year student, I wanted to get my name out there,” Nicole explained. “I want to get a feel for the hiring process so that when I am a junior I am ready to apply.”
“I’m looking for full- or part-time positions,” Nikita added. “Even a summer internship. Sometimes, if they like you, your internship can lead to a full-time job.”
That was precisely the advice Ellen Burti, Assistant Vice President of Career Services, University Career Services, offered students before the expo began. She told them, “Regardless of class year or position of interest, see the expo as an opportunity to refine résumé writing and interviewing skills—and keep an open mind to new possibilities.”
“Students need to look at the value of a career fair broadly,” Ms. Burti said. “Looking at opportunities narrowly, they might think, ‘I want to work for Google, but Google is not here, so I am not going.’”
“Instead, students should use it as an opportunity to explore,” she continued. “It is also a chance to practice communication skills and an opportunity to learn about what is required in different careers. If you want to work in media, health care, or law enforcement, where you will be working nontraditional hours, you really need to know what you are saying yes to and if it is something you are comfortable with.”
Students lined up for free LinkedIn photos and quickly updated their profiles to share with employers. Clarissa Phillips-Gibbons, a recruiter for the charter school network Uncommon Schools NYC, was looking for full- or part-time teachers and noted the University’s reputation for producing high-quality educators.
“Being a teacher is such an exciting and rewarding experience,” she said. “You are an influence on the lives of students who will impact the future.”
Stony Brook Medicine, based on Long Island, came to the expo seeking nursing candidates, drawn by the University’s Bachelor of Science in Nursing program and the new St. Vincent Health Sciences Center.
Sadaf Faridi, Clinical Talent Acquisition Specialist for Stony Brook University Hospital, a division of Stony Brook Medicine, said the demand for nurses continues to grow. “The ratio of nurses to doctors always favors nurses,” she said. “Nurses are always in demand; there are so many places you can work and so many things you can do.”