UConn students \u2013 as well as students and recent grads from Greater Hartford \u2013 will have a chance to connect with prospective employers in January as a unique and dynamic career fair returns in person to UConn Hartford.<\/p>\n
Typically, college career fairs are limited to students from the particular institution hosting the event. But given UConn Hartford\u2019s mission to engage with the community and promote Connecticut\u2019s capital city, the UConn Hartford Career Fair<\/a> – which will be held on Wednesday, Jan. 11 from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. – has a more expansive vision.<\/p>\n \u201cOur values here on the Hartford campus are very much centered on community engagement; diversity, equity, and inclusion; and finding ways to be advocates for Greater Hartford,\u201d says Wiley Dawson, Assistant Director of the Center for Career Development at UConn Hartford.<\/p>\n \u201cHaving an event like this allows the Center for Career Development not only to serve our students, but to further our mission of being a driver of economic mobility for our state,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n UConn Hartford has one of the most diverse student bodies of any institution of higher education in Connecticut, with students from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds making up 54% of the population, and first-generation students making up 49%. The career fair offers a crucial opportunity for these students to make connections with employers and make preparations for entering professional life, Dawson says.<\/p>\n \u201cIf they\u2019ve never done something like this before, the hardest thing is to persuade them that, you absolutely are invited, and this will be a good experience for you,\u201d he says. \u201cOnce they see what it\u2019s like, they become really enthusiastic.\u201d<\/p>\n