Students Gain New Knowledge, Experience and Connections at Mercy’s 2024 Career Fair
Nearly 60 employers filled the Rotunda at Mercy’s Westchester Campus for Mercy’s 2024 Career Fair. They represented career opportunities across a wide range of industries, including health care, law and law enforcement, education, social services, and non-profit organizations.
Mercy students and alumni had been looking forward to the event for weeks. They arrived prepared, with their resumes, questions and career objectives on hand, and left with new knowledge, experience and connections that could help propel their careers forward. In addition to valuable networking opportunities, students also had the chance to get a professional headshot taken that they could use for their LinkedIn profile picture.
“The Career Fair at Mercy University is a great way for students to network, learn about career paths, and hear from employers about entry level opportunities they can apply for,” said Sara Shepherd ’08, M.S. ’15, director of employer relations for Mercy University. “We were really impressed with the turnout of students this year – they came dressed professionally and ready to network, in higher numbers than we have ever seen. We are confident that many interviews were landed as a result of attending this fair.”
For Behavioral Science student Jasmine Rice ’27, who was attending the career fair for the first time, the event afforded the opportunity to familiarize herself with the local job market. “I really want to get the lay of the land about what companies are around here and what they offer, considering I’m going to stay in New York. So just knowing my community and knowing what opportunities are available will help me figure out what I could be doing in the fall,” she said.
Rachel Vasquez Veloz ’27, Communication Disorders student, agreed. “This is also my first year, so it’s great for just getting the feel of what jobs and what internships I could get into in the summer or fall—it’s really just an eye-opener to be here.”
Shepherd also believes that attending the fair encourages students to step out of their comfort zone, talk about their career interests and goals, and meet new people in their potential career field(s).
Nicholas Chad Roth ’24, praised the Career Development Center for helping him prepare for the event. “I went to the Career Development Center a couple of days ago because I’m starting to get into all these internships since I’m graduating in the fall. I’ve had so much experience, and I need that next step to get me into the industry and start strong.”
Recruiters were impressed with the students. Stefan Murray-Bilanych, Senior Recruitment Coordinator at NYC Public Schools, said he was pleased with the students’ enthusiasm. “A lot of them are early in their career, which is great,” he said. “They’re showing initiative and figuring out the systems of finding a position.”
Police officer Christian Gonzalez from the City of New Rochelle Police Department was impressed with how prepared they came in. “They have their resumes, they look the part, and they’ve been prepped really well,” he said.
Julia Pisano and Danielle Delgado, recruiting for White Plains Hospital, were also amazed by the preparedness of the students. They received a stack of résumés from students and recent graduates who are eager to get their careers going.
Another popular table was Enterprise Car Rental. Area Manager Cristina DiGiuseppi noted that the students were completely dedicated and suited up. “We’ve signed them up and enrolled them. It’s nice to find talent locally, and we want to be able to support the students in our community.”
Mercy alumni who came to recruit students appreciated the full-circle moment of attending Mercy’s Career Fair as a student, and now being on the other side of the table.
“It’s amazing to see the new faces of Mercy Mavericks out here interested in learning what Mercy has to offer,” said Ashley Gayle ’20, a program manager for Reading Partners. “And they’re super-interested in learning about organizations like Reading Partners, so it’s really good to connect their journey to my journey coming to Mercy myself and attending these college fairs.”
Students lined up to chat with the Branch Manager of the Ardsley Enterprise office, Mercy alumna Andreia Baharally ’20, who shared her enthusiasm for the event: “I was so honored when they asked me to be here because I’m so passionate about Mercy and Enterprise, so to put the two together was the perfect combination,” she said. “I graduated in 2020 with my marketing degree and I have nothing but good things to say about Mercy because I got everything I wanted: the training, the support, the skills, everything I needed to begin my career at Enterprise.”
Baharally understands firsthand how impactful the networking opportunities at the Career Fair could be. “It's great to speak to the students about signing up and what the next steps are, because this is how I was hired,” she explained. “I was walking through a career fair with my marketing class, and I was looking for companies I would love to work for, and I signed up for Enterprise. They reached out to me as soon as I graduated and offered me a position in their Management Training Program and my career took off from there.”