On Tuesday, March 5th, the EDPA Northeast Chapter attended a career fair at Williamson College of the Trades in Media, Pennsylvania. This was the second year that the Northeast Chapter represented the tradeshow industry at this event.
Williamson College of the Trades is an accredited junior college with approximately 280 students. Their mission is to prepare deserving young men to be respected leaders and productive members of society. Williamson uniquely develops the entire student, spiritually, socially, and professionally, emphasizing academic, trade, technical, and moral education in a structured community based on Judeo-Christian principles. The college offers academic programs in carpentry, electrical work, landscape construction and management, machine tool technology, masonry, and power plant technology.
Kayla Gott, Senior Account Executive at Agam and Northeast Chapter Vice President, Renee Langdon, Marketing Manager at Estes Forwarding Worldwide and Marketing Director of the Northeast Chapter, and Rob Mickiewicz, Director of Business Development at 2XL Imaging and Events Director of the Northeast Chapter, attended the event on behalf of the Northeast Chapter and found the experience to be rewarding for both themselves and the students they met. The event, recommended by EDPA’s Future Workforce Committee as a way to connect with future industry professionals, was well-attended by students from the college who came prepared with printed resumes and a keen interest in exploring opportunities related to their upcoming specialty degrees.
Kayla shared that the students were pleasantly surprised by the numerous opportunities and job prospects available in the events industry. “Most of them had little to no prior knowledge about the industry, but once we began explaining its vast reach, they became highly interested”. Rob mentioned that there was a great deal of enthusiasm among the students as they started to see the various roles available in companies nationwide. The trio, consisting of Kayla specializing in custom framing systems, Renee focusing on logistics, and Rob creating graphic designs to enhance event experiences, exemplified how different roles can work together for the success of an event. Overall, the three EDPA members collected 24 resumes from students interested in job and internship opportunities.
With a focus on industry education, support, and advocacy as key components of the EDPA mission, and the Future Workforce committees empowering members to shape the industry's future, the Northeast Chapter saw the career fair as a chance to make a positive impact.
Fortunately, this won't be the last chance for the EDPA Northeast Chapter to connect with students. We always strive to engage with the future professionals in our industry. We are always keeping an eye out for career fairs to join to inform students about opportunities in our industry. If you or someone that you know has a career fair in mind that might find value in EDPA representation, please let us know by emailing info@edpanortheast.com.
To learn more about Future Workforce and Future Leaders, and how you can get more involved with your EDPA Chapter, visit https://www.edpa.com/future.