The STEM Fair and Internships for Students of All Levels
Photo Credit to Darken Wolf
The University of Wyoming provides dozens of opportunities for students to gain experience in their respected field. On September 16th, the university hosted a STEM fair that had tons of booths filled with internships and career opportunities available to all students. These opportunities last beyond the fair and can be accessed now for students who are interested.
In an interview, Michelle Harris, Career Service Coordinator said, “STEM students are very fortunate. They have a lot of opportunities for their next steps in internships and post-graduation placements. And what’s great about these fairs and the events that surround them is that those employers are coming to campus looking for them.”
Michelle Harris greeting students as they enter into the STEM Fair.
The fair had dozens of tables with tons of opportunities for students from across the STEM spectrum. Students were guided through an initial packet on how to introduce themselves to prospective employers, and given a list of the jobs available.
“Oh, well, there’s a lot of unique things,” said Harris, “There’s a lot of things within government agencies, whether you know the Idaho National Labs, state divisions are here for the state of Wyoming. But then you have a lot of the larger companies that are here as well, along with other firms, organizations that are licensing organizations that will be helpful for the students to know about as they move forward with their careers.”
The job opportunities at the fair, according to the advisor who held the fair, have a decent chance of getting some of the jobs available during the event.
“The vast majority will find in the fall fair, a lot will find internships if they’re looking for internships and potentially jobs,” said Harris, “Spring fair, you see a lot more post-graduation places. But the good majority of the students will find something at these events to help them out.”
There are also opportunities for students who are interested in forestry and environmental science.
Forestry, yeah. So the state forestry divisions are always looking for students and they were actually on campus yesterday at the Environmental Wildlife and Natural Resources Fair,” said Harris, “But right now what’s here, what’s good is DEQ is here on campus today and they’ll be here again for tomorrow’s fair. Department of Environmental Quality, they do water, air, and land protections for the state. It is a state agency, so they’re always hiring. They have a lot of alumni looking for them right now. So those are great opportunities. And the general state offices, their HR folks are here today and tomorrow, and they can speak to hiring processes within any of the divisions within the state.”
The Navy and the Marine were also recruiting STEM students at the fair.
“For me, it was a stepping stone, honestly,” said Sargent Jacob Schaaf of the Marine Corp, “Stepping stone as far as if you don’t know what you’re doing, you don’t know what you’re going to use your degree for if you don’t have any set plan. Like for me, it was coming out of high school. I was very confused about what to do. This offers you a great salary at $85,000 a year right off the bat. It doesn’t matter what your degree is. All we ask is you’re willing and you’re going to work hard and you’re committed. It kind of creates that good foundation too, the structure for young kids, right? A lot of that is missing nowadays, I think, as far as the physical side of things go, mental even. Everybody kind of gets this connotation that the Marine Corps is the crayon eaters and whatever, but we focus on academics a lot, or we even have a requirement for SAT to get in, which is 1000. So it creates a good structure. I think above all else, it’s a good structure. It’s a good foundation for students to have and a good kind of, just for young minds, honestly, it creates a good structure.”
Students who have missed the fair can still have access to the opportunities that were available at the fair, and help from the school at the fair. Students who wish to talk with the career advisor on campus can message them at aces@uwyo.edu and (307) 766-2398.
