On March 1st, 2023, The Career Center hosted its first ever Career Fair at Louisiana State University of Alexandria (LSUA), hosting 43 companies on the LSUA campus. Over 300 motivated students attended to learn about career opportunities locally, regionally, and nationally. “This was a momentous day for our students and our employers”, said Dr Mary Palmer, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Holistic Education and Career Development. “Students were exposed to internship and job opportunities. Some students even made the decision to change their majors based on the experience, and many of our faculty released classes allowing students to attend the fair or offered extra credit for participating. This resonates with our C2C (Career to Curriculum), a holistic approach offering what students and their families want, a career ready student.”
Students enjoyed having the chance to learn about opportunities to develop their professional careers in the local market, with over 92% of students surveyed being very or somewhat satisfied from their experience. Of the employers, 100% of the companies who participated in our survey said they would want to come back for future career fair events. Another remarkable finding from the employer feedback was the desire for more internships and job shadowing engagement opportunities with LSUA students. Of employers, over 55% desire partnerships with internships, and over 44% were interested in Job shadowing opportunities with LSUA.
The first event, while successful, helped the Career Center gain valuable feedback to improve future events, as the next fair is expected for Fall 2023. In the meantime, the LSUA Career Center has already launched their website, where all the information about fute Career Fairs can be found.
If your company would like to discuss partnership opportunities, please contact careerdevelopment@lsua.edu.