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Career Week activities encourage students to be proactive

Penn State York students have the opportunity to network with business professionals from a variety of fields during the annual career networking event.  The networking event is part of Career Week each year.  Credit: Barbara Dennis / Penn StateCreative Commons

Penn State York students and alumni who graduated in the past five years, have the opportunity to network with business professionals (many of whom are Penn State alumni) in a variety of career fields including banking, business, education, engineering, forensic science, human services, law, manufacturing, and nonprofit, during the annual career networking event on Thursday, March 26. 

This is the fourth year for this event, which is part of a week-long series of programs to help students connect with alumni and learn about careers through networking. The networking event begins at noon in the Conference Center of the Main Classroom Building. Preregistration is required.  Register for the networking event online.

“As in the past, Career Week events represent a collaborative effort between the Penn State York Advising and Career Development Office, Alumni Relations, and multiple individual faculty members and initiatives on campus,” said Andrew Caldwell, career services coordinator/DUS adviser and coordinator of Career Week on campus. “By coordinating and highlighting relevant programming, students and recent graduates are encouraged to be proactive in their career planning by taking advantage of the resources and networking opportunities available to them as Penn Staters.”

Career Week kicks-off from noon to 1 p.m. Monday, March 23, with a panel discussion, Career Paths of Liberal Arts Alumni, featuring graduates from Penn State York’s English and Communication Arts and Sciences (CAS) programs.  This presentation offers students an opportunity to learn about the diverse range of potential career paths available after earning a liberal arts degree. The program, in room 204 of the Main Classroom Building, is free and open to the public.

Panelists include John Arthur, project management analyst/solution engineer with Deloitte Consulting LLP in Camp Hill, communication arts and science graduate; Peter Haldeman, associate attorney at Blakey, Yost, Bupp & Rausch, LLP, English graduate; Renee Hollinger, recruiter for the commercial division of Aerotek, English graduate; Taylor Kapterian, district leader with Primerica Financial Services, communication arts and sciences graduate; and Mary Lee, content writer at PDR Web Solutions, English graduate.  Deborah Eicher-Catt, professor of communication arts and sciences, is the moderator.

Also on Monday, March 23, students can learn how to use the Nittany Lion Career Network (NLCN) in a walk-in workshop, Internships at Your Fingertips:  Using Nittany Lion Career Network (NLCN), from 3-5 p.m. NLCN is Penn State’s comprehensive database of jobs and internships with more than 20,000 registered employers and thousands of postings.  

Career Week continues with “What’s My Line?,” at noon in the Lee R. Glatfelter Library on campus. An interactive career event, this panel features a select group of Penn State York women with interesting and circuitous career paths. This lunch and learn event is part of Women’s History Month, but is also sponsored by the Advising and Career Development office’s Career Week activities, and ConnectED, a program in which first-year students earn points for participating in campus activities and making connections to others on campus. All attendees at this event have the opportunity to win prizes, hear some interesting stories, and make connections. This program is free and open to the public.

Panelists, all from Penn State York, for “What’s my Line?,” are: Jane Emery, director of Advising and Career Development and Division of Undergraduate Studies (DUS) US coordinator; Holly L. Gumke, director of business services; and Dawn Oswald, information resources and services supervisor. Barbara Eshbach, head librarian at the Lee R. Glatfelter Library on campus, is the moderator.

Careers in (and from) History:  Charting Your Future by Studying the Past, is a panel discussion runs from noon to 1 p.m. Wednesday, March 25, in the Community Room of the Joe and Rosie Ruhl Student Community Center.  This program is free and open to the public.

A variety of speakers who either majored in history or who work in history-related fields will discuss their career paths and provide information about internships related to their fields.  Speakers include a national park service ranger from Eisenhower National park, a curator for the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, a former history student entering Penn State doctorate program in American Studies, the executive director of the Division of Undergraduate Studies at the University Park campus of Penn State, and a lawyer who earned a bachelors and masters degree in history before attending law school.

Also on March 25, Making the Most of the Career Networking Event, a walk-in workshop, is available from 3-5 p.m. in the Advising and Career Development office located in the Main Classroom Building.  Participants can learn what they need know to be prepared for the Career Networking Event on March 26. A packet of materials will be provided that discuss details of the event, networking tips/etiquette, and more. Staff will be available to discuss the event in detail and answer any questions participants might have.

The final event of Career Week, Friday, March 27, is the annual Information Sciences and Technology (IST) Spring Event beginning at 5:30 p.m. in the Community Room of the Joe and Rosie Ruhl Student Community Center.  This event is open to students in Penn State York’s Information Sciences and Technology (IST) program and provides a  for them to connect with IST alumni, learn about career and alumni services, and discover potential career paths within this versatile degree program.  Limited space is also available to exploratory students in the Division of Undergraduate Studies considering IST as a major.

Registration is required for this event; contact Bill Cantor, IST program coordinator, at 717-771-4143 or wpc2@psu.edu

Last Updated March 23, 2015