Each year, signs and markings around campus tout various fairs and conferences – from the Career Fair to the Job Fair to the Majors Fair. Now, a new fair will promote something that hasn’t been focused on before – non-profit, governmental and other service-related careers.
The first Careers in the Common Good Career Fair will be held 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday in the Council Fire Room of Davies Center.
Don Mowry, director of Service Learning, said the career expo will feature more than 20 non-profit organizations and government agencies.
| Attending Organizations * AmeriCorps * Arbor Place, Inc. * Bolton Refuge House * Boys & Girls Club * Chippewa Valley Habitat for Humanity * Community Health Partnership, Inc. * Japan Exchange & Teaching Program * Lakeside Health, LLC * Lutheran Social Services * March of Dimes * Peace Corps * Positive Alternatives * Teens for Christ * United Way * U.S. Army * U.S. Navy * West Wisconsin Land Trust * Teach for America |
“(It’s) to widen students’ horizons and consider careers they might not have considered,” he said.
In the next few years, about 900,000 workers from the federal civil service industry will be eligible for retirement, Mowry said. With those openings, he added, students from virtually any major would be able to find a career field that fits them.
Many of those positions offer advancement to other federal agencies, as well as funding for further education, Mowry said.
Organizations attending include the AmeriCorps, Peace Corps, Teach for America and the U.S. Army and Navy. Most organizations will be from Wisconsin, Minnesota and the Midwest, with a few from states further away, said Annie Adams, a member of the AmeriCorps *Vista program at UW-Eau Claire.
“If you want to give back to the community, it’d be a good opportunity for (students) to find out how to do that,” she said.
The event also will be helpful for students looking for ways to fulfill their service learning requirement, Adams said.
The casual event is meant to inform students of “what is out there,” she added. Therefore, students do not need to bring resumes or dress up.
The event, sponsored by the Center for Service Learning, with assistance from Career Services, is open to all students.
Both internships and job opportunities may be available from organizations attending, Mowry said. However, the focus of the event is more to interest students in a certain career, he noted.
“It’s especially appropriate for students who are not necessarily motivated by earning lots of money, but by careers that make large contributions to society,” Mowry said.
“That’s not to say those making lots of money don’t contribute, but we don’t always see them in the same light as someone who is working for the National Red Cross or doing relief work in Iraq.”
