By Brittney Payette
Managing Editor
From 3 p.m. on March 9, in the Aggie Rec Center, Cameron’s Office of Student Development hosted the Red River Career Expo, which featured over 50 employers.
The career fair had booths for the employees along with places for on-the-spot interviews to take place.
The event was free to the public and featured a diverse selection of employers, such as the Carrollton Police Department, Turner Falls Park, Apache Casino and Lawton Public Schools.
Paycom campus recruiter for operations Brianne Biddle said career fairs like the one hosted by Cameron are great opportunities to recruit new talent for the company.
“I coordinate all the logistics surrounding career fairs, resume reviews, mock interviews, all things students,” Biddle said. “(I) just love getting to interact with students. I’ve seen a lot of technical people, which is great for our company. Some individuals that are looking for just entry-level roles, which is what I recruit for.”
Senior business administration Caleb Moseley said he attended the career fair because three of the employers present were Fort Sill employers.
“The main job I was looking for was MICC (Mission and Installation Contracting Command,” Moseley said. “Even though I was in direct contact with MICC, I managed to talk with other employers, and they’re giving me honest feedback off my resume.”
Moseley said he thought the event was beneficial and well put together.
“It’s very organized,” Moseley said. “I believe, in all honesty, Cameron should have more events like this.”
Director of Student Development Jennifer Pruchnicki said their office generally begins planning the expo the summer before and works closely with event vendors and employers to plan ahead.
“A week or two before the Expo, we really try to work hard to get students ready for the Expo,” Pruchnicki said. “We host workshops on resume writing, interview tips, how to navigate a career fair and network.”
Southwest Medical Center (SWMC) recruiter Jill Wright has worked at the SWMC for almost two years and said she wanted to participate in the event to help find more potential employees to fill some of the many open positions at the SWMC.
“All nursing positions, from RNs all the way to scrub techs to MHTs to CNAs, and then, of course, there’s front desk jobs as well as engineering,” Wright said.
Wright said people interested in working for the SWMC could go to their website at swmconline.com and go to the career tab.
“The benefits are fantastic at Southwestern,” Wright said. “As well as reimbursement for up to five thousand a year.”
The SWMC also offers internships and job shadowing.
Wright said the SWMC is a great place to work and that they were glad they were able to participate in the career expo.
“We’ve had a wonderful turnout here at the career fair,” Wright said.
Pruchnicki said the Office of Student Development holds two main career fairs – the Opportunity Fair in the Fall and the Red River Expo in the Spring.
“We really encourage students to attend these events, she said. “It’s a lot easier to have a bunch of employers under one roof versus having to contact each and every one of them yourself.”
Additionally, Pruchnicki said she was excited the office was able to host an in-person career fair again, which they had not done in two years.
“While a virtual platform has some benefits, you just can’t replicate the feel or energy of an in-person networking opportunity,” she said.
Pruchnicki also said she is happy they are able to help students prepare for their careers.
“We’d love to hear back from students about how Career Services has helped them in their career development.”
Another event the Office of Student Development hosts is the Inclusion & Leadership Summit, which Pruchnicki said they would release more information about soon.
For more information about future events, contact the Office of Student Development at hirecameronaggies@cameron.edu.
