By Marianne Luedeman
Photos by Shira Edwards
BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – Gardner-Webb University is set to host a career fair on April 10, 2024, in the Lutz-Yelton Convocation Center featuring a variety of companies, both local and national.
The career fair, which will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., is set to feature “between 70 and 100 employers,” according to Micah Martin, director of the Gardner-Webb Center for Personal and Professional Development.
The fair will provide students with a wide range of opportunities, ranging from internships to full-time jobs all across the country. “We have every local company and nonprofit you can think of, plus a lot of regional companies, too. We’ve had companies as far away as Dallas, Texas, and Baltimore, Md., hire our students,” said Martin.
Martin encourages all students to attend the fair, even if you’re not currently looking for a job or internship.
“You need to go to the fair to practice talking to people professionally, having professional conversations, and to learn how to network. It’s an hour commitment at most, you can learn so much from just that hour,” said Martin.
Martin further noted, “these things work; these fairs have kickstarted the futures of so many Gardner-Webb students.”
He can make this statement with confidence because of all the current and former Gardner-Webb students who have found opportunity at these fairs, noting that the “same companies come again and again because they’ve had awesome experiences with our students.”
Martin shared the story of Catherine Fox, a former Gardner-Webb student who found success at a prior career fair. “Catherine met a representative there in banking and finance and left the fair with a job interview. A lot of times you walk out with a contact, she walked out with an interview,” he said.
He continued to share another story, that of current Gardner-Webb student Emily White.
“Emily met some folks from the town manager’s office here at Boiling Springs and landed an internship position doing PR and marketing for the Broad River Greenway Association. They interviewed her right in the Tucker food court,” said Martin.
He continued to recount many more examples of success featuring students from a variety of backgrounds.
“Caleb Milke met a rep from North Western Mutual, a big finance company in Charlotte, and walked away with an internship. Emily Cox got an internship with the chamber of commerce in Shelby doing marketing and PR work, and Kendall Massey got a job with the Gaston county government office,” conveyed Martin.
Gardner-Webb hosts career fairs every semester, including a smaller career fair focused on public safety in the spring. The Spring 2024 public safety career fair was held on April 3, 2024, and featured around 40 agencies.
Students who attend the upcoming career fair are encouraged to bring copies of their resume, dress professionally, and brush up on their networking skills.
For questions about the upcoming career fair, Martin can be reached at [email protected].