Donald Keough, News Editor–

The Knowlton Center for Career Exploration held one of this semester’s largest career fairs, the Spring Big Red Career Expo, on Feb. 6. With over 41 employers in attendance, students had the chance to seek out a variety of career opportunities, including job offers and internships. 

The career fair hosted employers specific to three of the Knowlton Center’s Career Communities, which are groups that students can join and receive career-specific resources while working with other peers.

These Career Communities were Healthcare, Clinical Research and Wellness; Visual, Written and Performing Arts; and Social Impact, Education and Government. 

“The idea is that… the fall will cover the first half of the chunk of the Career Communities, and then the other [fair] will cover the remaining Career communities,” said Blake Gooch, the assistant director of technology, data and science. “But of course, depending on who’s hiring, students from any of these career communities can go to the fall career expo or the spring career expo.” 

Gooch was one of the Knowlton Center staff members who was helping students at the career fair. Alongside Gooch and the rest of the staff, there were a number of different resources which were available to students. Some of these included employment guides and transportation means such as shuttles which ran back and forth from the Mitchell Center to the rest of campus. 

In terms of the fair’s importance for students, Gooch said that the fair could be helpful for students in a number of ways. 

“Getting an internship is [going to] benefit you,” Gooch said. “Whether you do the internship and you like it, or if you do an internship and you don’t like it, you’re gonna learn something from that experience. You could use that for future opportunities once you leave Denison.” 

He also included that the full-time employment opportunities at the fair could be beneficial for students as well. 

Sophia Hwang ‘25 was one of the students who attended the career fair. She’s taking a gap year before applying for medical school, and is in the process of finding a full-time job during her gap year.

After spending time talking with potential employers, she reflected on her experience and what her takeaways were.

“It’s been a little bit stressful because in healthcare there are a lot of positions… that require specialized certifications or some sort of education level beyond just a bachelor’s degree,” Hwang said. 

“But today has really expanded my perspective on being able to talk to employers directly, and they’ve been able to share with me that they do actually have a lot of positions that are friendly to new grads, and a lot of them offer on the job training, which is really nice, and it’s got me feeling maybe a bit more hopeful about the job search.” 

She also mentioned that one of the challenges was finding an employer that fit exactly what she was hoping for, including the employer’s location and type of patients they work with. But she said that she still was grateful to talk with a number of employers for potential opportunities. 

Hwang also has been using other Knowlton Center resources, which she said have been useful.

“I will admit I’m not the best at taking the initiative to make an appointment and go visit the Knowlton Center, but I will say they’re good at recognizing that a lot of students are like that [when] making that first step… so that’s been really helpful.” 

Another senior who attended the career fair, Peter Lyon ‘25, discussed how he was feeling after visiting the fair. 

“Things are going well,” Lyon said. “This is a very exciting time to be down here and to connect with organizations and groups that I would have never had imagined.”

Lyon is an  environmental studies major with an education concentration and is hoping to find a job quickly after college. He said that the process of finding a new employment opportunity has been easier because of resources like the career fair. 

“The process has felt hard at first, but it’s gotten easier this semester compared with last semester,” Lyon said. “This is a perfect time for me to be going through all of this.” 

Lyon is also looking forward to life after Denison, although he says it’s bittersweet for him. 

“I’m sad and grateful at the same time,” Lyon said. “I’m very grateful that Denison has shaped me into the person I am. I’m still learning because of the Denison experience, and I look forward to what the next couple of years will look like.”