When Bhavya Peddigari, a nutrition and food science graduate student, applies for jobs, she wants to feel a personal connection with employers that she doesn’t get online. That’s one reason she, along with over 200 other University of Maryland students, attended the School of Public Health’s annual Career Expo on Feb 6.
The Career Expo “is much more interactive,” Peddigari said. “There’s a personal touch to it.”
With 24 organizations, including representation from subjects across the School of Public Health, the Expo offered a range of opportunities for students, from internships to full-time positions.
“The Public Health Career Expo is our signature exposure event, allowing students to connect with featured employers to learn more about their organization and programming, as well as explore opportunities such as internships and projected employment vacancies,” said Jodi Hammer, the program director for SPH’s Career Center. “This is a great opportunity for students to gain comfort in networking with featured employers and schools.”
Keep an open mind and take advantage of opportunities that might help you grow in your interest area or discover what that might be.
Juliana Brammer attended as a recruiter representing the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy. Brammer, the director of admissions, said the school often accepts SPH students. She attended the Expo to advertise advanced degree programs along with summer internships for students interested in pharmaceutical science.
“Keep an open mind and take advantage of opportunities that might help you grow in your interest area or discover what that might be,” Brammer said. She advised students to explore different options in order to discover their passions.
Another recruiter was Monika Driver, the manager of health and communications for Holy Cross Health. Like Brammer, Driver said the company she works with hires a lot of SPH students as interns and employees. Driver was offering a full-time position as a diabetes educator, part-time jobs in congregational health and internships in community health.
Junior kinesiology major Jessica Stanley attended the Expo hoping to find opportunities in health policy but also to survey potential experiences.
“One of the biggest barriers for students in public health is [finding] internships,” Stanley said. “These opportunities, where we have all these organizations and all these clinics and all these med schools coming in, are really beneficial.”
Sophomore behavioral community health and dance double major Kaisha Snowden participated in the Expo to browse through the organizations and network.
The Career Expo “allows you to get face-to-face time with employers,” Snowden said. “You can say things that you can’t really say on paper with just a resume or cover letter.”
Learn more about SPH career opportunities on our website.
- Sumaya Abdel-Motagaly