The University of Rhode Island’s Harrington School of Communication and Media hosted the Communication and Media Career Fair on Feb. 27 in the Memorial Union ballroom for students to speak to future employers for internship or post-graduate jobs.
Twenty-one organizations were in attendance including popular ESPN, Hasbro, WPRI 12, Fox and URI athletics to engage with students interested in gaining experience.
Many of the students in attendance were distributing resumes in hopes to get future internships or jobs.
“I hope to get internships, but also I hope to just connect with people in the field, so we can have these connections for possible job opportunities,” said third-year student public relations major Catlin Casey. “I eventually want to move to Boston, so getting those connections earlier will help.”
Local employers, including many Rhode Island businesses, were in attendance. Attendees dressed in business casual clothing.
“I love helping and engaging with people, especially with college students,” said Jessica Rattenni, manager of university engagement of Hasbro. “I mean, what’s not to love about being able to create something and be part of such a fun play and creative company that gets to provide all these unique experiences for people all around the world?”
Genevieve Luminex, a recent URI graduate, was in attendance as a member of ALKU, a consulting firm, as a college relationship specialist. Luminex was excited to return to campus to talk about the opportunities she was given and her experiences.
“[I’m excited about] being able to provide opportunities to students that I meet, especially students that maybe aren’t totally sure what they want to do because that’s exactly the situation that I was in when I was in college,” said Lumiex. “Just being able to help them with opportunities, whether it’s full time and/ or internship opportunities at ALKU is super important.”
At URI, all career fairs are put on by the Center for Career and Experiential Education. The center’s goal is to provide success for students during their four years at the university and engagement in preparing all students for future careers through career exploration fairs, according to their website.
Molly Williams, a career education specialist for the Harrington School, helped students in the weeks leading up to the fair. She sent out important reminders and offered her support with reading resumes and tips for how to talk to future employers.
The Spring Career Fair Expo will take place on Wednesday, March 26 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and is open to students from every college who are potentially looking for interns or full time employees. To learn more about the event, students can go to the CCEE and register for the event on Handshake.
