The College of Human Sciences and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences have worked together to create their first People to People Internship and Career Fair for the fields of education, human and social services, health and wellness, government, and hospitality.

The People to People Internship and Career Fair will be held from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday in the Memorial Union.

Loni Pringnitz, director of Career Services for the College of Human Sciences, hopes the event will help fill a niche for students outside of what already exists on campus.

“The colleges of engineering, business and agriculture do a great job with their career fairs, and while those are important to our students, we wanted something a little more geared toward the disciplines and organizations within our colleges,” Pringnitz said.

Pringnitz said the fair is open to all students of the university, not just those in the co-hosting colleges.

“If there’s an opportunity students want to explore or a certain organization attending the event, we certainly open it to all students to attend,” Pringnitz said.

While both colleges will still continue to co-sponsor the Business, Industry and Technology Career Fair with the College of Business, the People to People Career Fair is a separate event, said Taren Crow, program coordinator for career services for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

“We really put the idea into motion last spring. I reserved the date on the date last year,” Crow said.

Both colleges contacted employers to see if they would be interested in attending.

“In the past, few of the employers asked if we had an opportunity like this before,” Crow said. “They’re excited to come in and meet students who are passionate about the organizations and fields they’re in.”

More than 60 employers are confirmed to attend, so the career fair will also offer a variety of the industries. Thirteen schools districts will also be in attendance for a special session for upperclassmen and alumni seeking full-time employment in education.

“We have Teach for America coming in for students who are passionate about education, then on the other side we also have the Federal Bureau of Prisons, which I think will interest our criminal justice students,” Crow said.

With less than three weeks until the career fair, Pringnitz recommends students come in prepared.

“They should be ready with their résumés polished, wearing professional dress and they need to research companies going into the event to make it a successful day of networking and identifying opportunities for internships or full-time employment,” Pringnitz said.

Although this is the first People to People Career Fair, both Pringnitz and Crow expressed they wish to see the event expand in the coming years. Crow said there could be a possibility of hosting a fair in the spring and fall.

“We’ve had some employers tell us they hire in the fall, while for others now is the time they look,” Crow said.

Pringnitz hopes all students will take advantage of the opportunity to attend the event to see what it has to offer.

“We just want to build and grow this over the next few years so that we can provide employer representation and opportunities for students of the whole university,” Pringnitz said.