��Ӱֱ��

Whether traveling a great distance or just down the road, focusing on mechanical engineering or health care, employers are continuing to flock to ��Ӱֱ�� State to recruit students who are the perfect fit for their organization.

In fact, a total of 109 employers registered for the college’s two career fairs held last month on the ��Ӱֱ�� and Wellsville campuses. These events provided an excellent networking opportunity for students, who were able to connect with and learn more about the companies they may end up working for after graduation.

As they have done in the past, representatives from computer networking company Cisco Meraki traveled thousands of miles from San Francisco to ��Ӱֱ��, looking to recruit information technology: network administration students. The company, which currently employs four ��Ӱֱ�� State alums, also held an information session and on-campus interviews.

“The students definitely have the aptitude and the drive to make a difference,” Chuck Slack, technology support manager at Cisco Meraki, said of ��Ӱֱ�� State network administration students. “A lot of their program helps set the tone for what they’re going to be doing when they get out there on the job. They’re very hard-working people, some of our top-performing, for sure.”

Returning to their alma mater to recruit students for Balfour Beatty Construction were Vice President Dan Novack, Senior Project Engineer Carley Youngman, and Project Engineer Andrew Hydock, who made the trip up from Virginia. Balfour Beatty has hired numerous ��Ӱֱ�� State grads, several of whom are in high-level positions.

“When they are on the job, they get to use the skills they are learning here, which are very valuable,” Hydock said. “They come in with an advantage because they have real-world experience.”

Youngman added, “��Ӱֱ�� State is a school of technology, so all of the technical stuff students are learning here, they can instantly apply in our field, whereas as at some of the larger schools, students don’t have as much technical experience, so they have to be taught some of those skills on the job.”

Christina Tschantre, human resources manager at Corning, Inc., agreed that ��Ӱֱ�� State students “definitely come out of college with good hands-on experience.”

“Also, we’ve been able to partner with some of the professors here to have students come and work with us so they know what we’re all about and what we need them to know coming out of their programs at ��Ӱֱ�� State,” she said.

Jennifer Duffy, regional human resources business partner at Maine Drilling & Blasting, said her company has had tremendous success working with ��Ӱֱ�� State grads in the past, who have “turned into really excellent members of our team.”

“They have a terrific work ethic and seem to be ready to go to work right away,” said Duffy, who had traveled from Bethel, PA to recruit ��Ӱֱ�� State students. “I think we do a pretty good job explaining what it is we do, because it is rough work and we want people to understand what they’re getting into, but ��Ӱֱ�� State students are just ready to get out there and get their hands in it.”

If you are an employer interested in recruiting ��Ӱֱ�� State’s talented students/alumni, please contact Elaine Morsman, director of the Career Development Center, to find out how to connect with JobLink at morsmaem@alfredstate.edu or 607-587-4060.