The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) President Heather Wilson held a town hall meeting Sept. 9 at the Undergraduate Learning Center to discuss new initiatives aimed at connecting students with employers and preparing them for careers after graduation.

The initiatives include employer engagement events featuring federal agencies, Fortune 500 companies, nonprofit organizations, government agencies and local businesses looking to recruit UTEP students.

Expected employers include the FBI, Lockheed Martin, Texas Parks and Wildlife, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Microsoft, Dell, Google, El Paso Children’s Hospital and other local companies.

“We are also going to be proactively reaching out to the companies in the region who need great employees,” Wilson said.

Employer engagement events will take place Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Union Breezeway. Career coaching clinics will take place Wednesdays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at various locations across campus.

“We want to help prepare students for beyond college and better our community engagement overall,” Wilson said. “If a company wants to come and recruit on this campus, we’re going to get them on campus. We already have over 150 companies who are coming.”

Students will also have access to professional attire for interviews and professional headshots.

Professional attire will be available through the Food Pantry office in Union East after its remodel is completed. In the meantime, students can contact Food Pantry Director, Tamara Hernandez at [email protected].

Students also will be able to take professional headshots in Suite 310 of the University Library.

Employer engagement events:

Sept. 24: Open to all employers
Oct. 1: Business and professional services
Oct. 6: Health and applied sciences
Oct. 15: Open to all employers
Oct. 22: Graduate and professional schools

Career coaching clinics:

Sept. 23: University Library, Room 111 – Open clinic
Sept. 30: University Library, Room 111 – Business, financial and professional services
Oct. 5: IDRB 2.204 – Health and applied sciences
Oct. 14: Engineering/Tech Café – Open clinic
Oct. 21: University Library, Room 111 – Graduate schools

Vanessa Orozco is a staff reporter at The Prospector and may be reached at [email protected]