Iowa State students connected with employers like Mayo Clinic and GEICO at the Business, Industry and Technology and People to People Career Fairs.

The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences hosted the career fairs which took place from noon to 5 p.m. Wednesday in Hilton Coliseum and the Scheman Building. 

The Business, Industry and Technology Career Fair hosted 142 organizations including BioLife Plasma Services, John Deere and The Hershey Company.

“It just gives me a lot of connections. [Which is] something I could really use here in the next few years to get a job,” said Matthew Waddingham, a sophomore in marketing. “I think you can make a lot of connections between employers.”

The People to People Career Fair in the Scheman Building hosted 87 organizations and offered students the opportunity to connect to discuss internships and full-time employment opportunities in the fields of social services, health, government, hospitality and event management. The fair also hosted professional schools in the fields of health and law. 

“It’s a really great way to network with different people,” said Jessica Stoelk, a junior in human development, family studies and anthropology. “I definitely want to work with family development and people who help support families going through tough times. There are a lot of organizations here at the People to People career fair that work with a bunch of families who have gone through a bunch of different experiences.”

The career fairs also gave volunteering opportunities to students. Cece Sturdivant, a sophomore in kinesiology who volunteered at the People to People Career Fair, thought that the career fairs gave students unique opportunities to meet potential employers.

“It’s just such a unique opportunity to have so many opportunities in one place on one day,” said Sturdivant. “I think I [got] a unique perspective getting to see all the conversations.”

In total, 229 organizations and about 2,100 students were present at the career fairs over the span of five hours according to Associate Director of Career Services Taren Reker in the department of Liberal Arts and Sciences administration.