Alumnus John Stemple, the Mountaineer mascot from 1994-95, attended the WVU Career Services bi-annual STEM Career and Internship Fair held Sept. 14, which had the largest crowd of student and alumni job seekers, and recruiting employers to date.
Stemple, the director of supply network operations for oral care at Proctor & Gamble who attends the event every semester, typically brings three to six colleagues to fill a two-table sponsor display loaded with his company’s products.
As a civil and environmental engineering graduate, he returns to campus from Cincinnati, Ohio, to recruit a range of majors, including chemistry, chemical engineering, electrical engineering, industrial engineering and mechanical engineering.
He has even been known to tote his rifle around the event — proud of the tradition — when welcoming students to his career fair booth.
Recording the largest attendance, approximately 1,500 students had the opportunity to connect with a record 200 companies in one day, representing a variety of career paths. Industries included aerospace, consulting, defense, energy, manufacturing, natural resources, software development, supply chain and related fields.
“The high quality of candidates we interacted with exceeded our expectations,” Stemple said.
In preparation for the event, students engaged in one-on-one appointments with career development specialists, classroom presentations requested by faculty focusing on how to create a resume, interview skills, answering interview questions and drop-by resume review workshops.
Career Services also welcomed many employer-hosted experiences, such as information sessions in the academic buildings, networking events at local restaurants, and participation in the Statler Freshman Experience Program that helped students gain a perspective from the professionals.
To conclude the week, 36 companies, including AVN Corporation, Halliburton, Luckstone, NAVAIR, Nalco Water, Procter & Gamble, Momentive and more, conducted on-campus interviews following the career fair and the next day with students interested in positions at their companies.
“Thanks to the WVU Career Services team for putting together such a great event. And a special thanks to all the staff and faculty that helped coordinate our classroom visits during the week,” Stemple said.
WVU students and alumni can learn about specific career and development services available to them by visiting the Career Services website and the online career site Handshake.