Thousands of students expected to attend annual Career Showcase

Athletes won’t be the only ones on the Stephen O’Connell Center’s court this week.

Students will be able to visit over 360 registered employers at the annual Career Showcase on the O’Connell Center’s practice basketball court, concourse and arena floor from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, said Ja’Net Glover, the senior director for career services.

The showcase is split into technical and non-technical days, which helps to separate the opportunities in STEM fields. It costs $30,000 to rent the center for the showcase, Glover said.

Students can arrive as early as 8:15 a.m. at Gate Three with their Gator 1 Card to expedite the check-in process through the center’s metal detectors, Glover said. In January, the career fair opened 45 minutes early to mitigate the long line during last Fall’s Career Showcase.

Glover said the showcase was planned a year in advance by looking at industry growth and trends. This year, 63 new companies were added such as Chick-fil-A, Merrill Lynch and Visa.

The booths are organized by the type of positions companies are recruiting for, Glover said.

This will be the 25th Career Showcase for Glover. She said she wants it to be a signature experience for students and employers.

“The whole campus believes that career is a priority and an effort that we all have to own for our student body,” Glover said.

This will be Brianna Pawlyshyn’s first career showcase. She’ll attend the technical day on Wednesday. Pawlyshyn, an 18-year-old UF biomedical engineering freshman, said she’s nervous but excited.

“I would like to get an internship,” Pawlyshyn said. “But, I think the experience is the biggest thing."

Representatives from Summit Holdings, Inc. speak to a student about the different opportunities at their company. Summit was one of the hundreds of firms and organizations present at Career Showcase in the Stephen C. O'Connell Center on Tuesday morning.