State Tech VP of External Relations Shannon M. Grus is thrilled with last week’s career expo as about 290 industry partners were on hand to showcase their companies and talk to students about potential jobs.

“This event plays a big part of fulfilling our mission,” said Grus of the long-standing goal of preparing students for profitable employment and a life of learning. “This event provides our students with an incredible variety of employment and internship opportunities. Our goal is to ensure our students are provided with the best career options available while fulfilling our statewide mission to be the state of Missouri’s technical college. We value our industry partners who help us make this happen. This event is a showcase of these great partnerships and how working together builds a better future for our students and their organizations.”

Grus said this year’s participation was well above last year’s total of 135 partners who only spoke to students during a morning session due to COVID.

In 2020, before the pandemic, State Tech welcomed just under 250 employers over two sessions.

“I believe the growth of this event is attributed to several factors, including our number one rankings, growth, great industry relationships, and the word of mouth about our amazing students and graduates,” Grus said.

Each session was well attended but the afternoon gathering was more staggered, mostly due to students who were interviewing and then returning to the expo.

A total of 87 employers requested interview space and many others will return to campus to interview or invite them to their location for an interview.

Grus said this event is a highlight of the year and one of her favorite days, next to graduation. 

“The energy in the building is palpable,” she added. “I think what I love besides seeing our students so excited is hearing the quotes from industry partners like, ‘I am also excited about the caliber of students that you are educating at State. They came prepared, they had resumes, they had looked up our company, they had great questions, they were well-spoken, and just all-around great candidates for hire,’ and ‘Thank you for the opportunity to meet your State Tech students.  This was our first experience at State Tech’s Career Expo and we were impressed.’”

Grus noted that this event could not happen without each faculty and staff member. “Everyone plays a part in the success of this event,” she said. “However, with that said, Scott Peters and Ashley Anderson are the organizers and planners of this event. They start the process in late October. They work with every employer, answer every email and phone call, plan every detail, and make it all seem effortless. Their contributions are key to the success of the expo.”