Cal State Fullerton’s Associated Students, Career Center and Alumni Association collaborated to bring an inaugural Career Week onto campus for the Titan community.
“ASI Career Week: Pathways to Profession” beganMonday, April 13 and ended Thursday, April 16with all events taking place in the Titan Student Union rooms Gabrielino, Alvarado AB, Titan Theater, Ontiveros and the Pavilions.
ASI President Haneefah Syed developed the original concept of hosting a career week, in assistance with ASI Vice President Juan Salguero.
“She had a vision where former students of Cal State Fullerton could come back and teach others, the students here, different aspects of searching for careers,” said Christina Cardenas, ASI director of organizational communications and outreach.
While ASI hosted the week and were responsible for the organization and marketing of the events, the Career Center invited large companies and small businesses for students to network with and the Alumni Association provided alumni to host panels and workshops to guide and connect with current Titans.
“We throw parties all the time. Why not have a career week party, like different types of workshops or different majors,” Cardenas said. “It’s just kind of catering to these different types of students who want to go into different kinds of careers.”
Students had the opportunity to take professional headshots for their LinkedIn profile while using the clothes provided by the student workers. Educational panels, teaching participants how to negotiate offer letters and benefit packages, worked in tandem with the career expo and its respective panels and workshops.
“Navigating the Recruitment Calendar Panel,” “Women in STEM Alumni Panel,” “Careers in Nonprofit Panel” and “Men in Humanities” were among the many other panels that catered to students during the week.
Tuesday had the largest line-up with events that included workshops and panels lasting from 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
“I think it was just logistics. We have the most rooms open that day or we can get the most RSVPs that day,” Cardenas said. “It was just whatever we can get in the door at what times we’re going to get it in.”
Fourth-year public health majors Rachel Ma and Sara Lang visited the “Women in STEM Alumni Panel,” while completing an assignment from their class that required them to visit two professional development workshops.
“What I really liked about the two panels that I went to was that they were very focused on the individual and what their story was and how they got to the path that they wanted,” Lang said. “It was really nice to listen to them and hear their story because there’s just so many different types of STEM jobs or nonprofit organization work.”
Many of the resources provided during the week, such as Tuffy’s Career Closet and free professional headshots for students, are available throughout the semester.