The Career & Internship Expo is geared towards undergraduate students, graduate students as well as alumni. It is one of two major networking events that the CCLP (Center for Career & Life Planning) hosts every year. In October, the Career & Life Planning Center hosted their first large in-person networking event since 2019 at the Alfond Sports Center.
The Career & Internship Expo focused on mostly spring internships and graduate opportunities, whereas their Networking and Recruiting Night in February aims to help undergraduates, graduates, and alumni with summer internships and full-time opportunities.
“It never hurts to go to the Expo even if you aren’t sure what you are looking for or what you want to do in life,” stated Victoria Amon (’25). Through the help of both the Career & Life Planning Center and the Career Expo, Amon was able to secure an internship within the tax department at Walt Disney World. According to Amon, this experience has helped her get a better understanding of what she wants and might not want to do with her career.
Leading up to the Career & Internship Expo, the CCLP hosted many career workshops that helped students revise their resumes, develop elevator pitches, and come up with talking points to use during the expo. Many recruiters from companies such as Tian America and Renewal by Andersen came to give students advice on what recruiters look for in a resume and how to ace an elevator pitch.
The Center for Career & Life Planning also hosted Work Fox spotlights during common hour so that students may learn what companies are in the market and what their values, goals, and ideals are. These events are all focused on preparing students for these networking nights.
October’s Expo marked its first major in-person event since the COVID-19 Pandemic. To differentiate Rollins from other colleges, the college asks employers and alumni for feedback to improve its events and utilizes alumni networks to invite more companies to campus. Rollins will often reach out to alumni to facilitate connections between the college and employers. For example, a former Rollins student was hired as an intern at Disney Parks and has since facilitated the opportunity for Disney Parks to participate in the fall career expo.
Rollins alumni connections are vital to creating long-lasting employer relationships, creating more opportunities for students studying a variety of subjects. According to the Career & Life Planning Center, the goal of its career expo is to allow all students across all majors to find an opportunity that will help them achieve their career goals.
To ensure that all students may find opportunities that fit their career goals, the Career & Life Planning Center invited 59 employers to the expo, such as Universal Parks and Resorts, the Ritz-Carlton, Massey Services INC, and the US Department of State. Among these 59 employers, 10 Rollins alumni were representing their respective companies. Alumni relations are crucial to helping undergraduate and graduate students transition into full-time opportunities.
When discussing the Career Expo with Associate Director of Employer and Alumni Connections Jessica Wensel, she offered a few words of advice to any student who is attending an expo: “Definitely start early, be prepared, so take advantage of everything that the CCLP offers because that is what we are here to do: we’re here to help prepare, take advantage of any events, coming into the career studio and getting someone to look at your resume, thinking about those companies that you would want to work for, but also remaining open.”
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