The BYU STEM Fair is what happens when bright students and prominent employers come together. On February 11, hundreds of recruiters from all over the country came to the Wilkinson Center to meet BYU students and see what they had to offer.
The semiannual STEM Fair presents a unique opportunity for students to network and prepare for the future, and for employers to seek out new talent. Some students even received job interviews on campus.
Hyrum Carlile, a freshman majoring in computer science, attended the STEM Fair to get an early start on his search for future internships.
“I went to the National Instruments luncheon, and I was talking to the guys there about an internship,” Carlile said. “I just came to see what I need to do to prepare myself for an internship or potential employment later on.”
The STEM Fair also provided networking opportunities for students who are approaching graduation. Tyler Anderson, a senior majoring in statistics, attended the fair in hopes of finding a full-time job.
“I want to see different companies and the way they apply what I’ve learned in statistics,” Anderson said. “The prospect of finding a job is . . . exciting. I’m hoping to get a few interviews.”
And students were not the only ones who benefitted from the STEM Fair. Recruiters in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics were impressed by what they saw on the resumes of BYU students. Several companies came to BYU with hopes of filling internship or staff positions, and the STEM Fair provided the promising applicants that they needed.
Ben Bullough, a BYU alumnus who has been working for several years at MIT Lincoln Labs, said he was impressed with the turnout.
“We had lots of people coming by all day with excellent credentials and qualifications,” Bullough said. “We come to every STEM Career Fair. BYU is one of the most distant universities that we attend regularly, and I think that’s a good testament to the quality of the applicants.”
The STEM Fair truly presents a win-win situation for all who attend. Many recruiters filled their staffing needs, and many students who walked in with their resumes walked out with job prospects.