Guiding students to their full potential, UTEP Career Center is one of many resources the university offers to its students. From undergraduate students to graduate students, navigating the world of finding a job or internship can be challenging for some students and the Career Center can help.
Working with students from all walks of life, Director Betsy Castro discusses the opportunities the center offers to students and the work they aim to do.
“We really run the entire spectrum of opportunities for people that are coming to campus,” Castro said. “We help students who are in the middle of the path and they’re looking to find a job on campus or internship. Some students need help preparing their resume for a job, so we help with that.”
Crafting a good resume can be difficult for some students and practice interviews can be nerve-wracking, thankfully, the Career Center offers assistance in those areas.
“Some people come to us with great ideal of experience but not knowing how to detail that on a resume,” Castro said. “I think everybody comes with their strengths and our job is to make sure that they realize that they have opportunities.”
The Career Center welcomes and connects with every student walking in; Castro even encourages students to seek all the resources they offer.
“We want to make sure that students take advantage of all these opportunities at the right time,” Castro said. “Everything comes by so quickly it is important that students be aware of these resources and start engaging earlier.”
Though the Career Center provides resources for students, they also have job opportunities for students who want to work at the Career Center.
“One of the biggest things that we have for our student employees is we prepare them for the world of work,” Castro said. “We sometimes have 10 to 18 students working here, different roles everything from website to graphic designer, to social media. Because our goal is when those students leave our department, we want them to be ready for their next challenge.”
Working with bright and talented student employees, Castro says she enjoys seeing her students grow and develop into strong leaders. She also enjoys the annual Career Expo at UTEP, and she says this year’s recruiting event is a little special.
“Expo this year has had a record number of companies, we have 195 companies coming to the fair and that is an all-time record, so we are excited about that,” Castro said. “It’s like volleyball season for us so the Expo kicks off the recruiting season, we have all these companies and students can see the list of who’s coming in via Handshake, the portal that we use.”
The event kicks off Thursday, Sept. 21, at the Don Haskins Center, students can go and meet different employers and connect with them. The event will be held on the basketball floor of the arena and companies like DELL, Honeywell, Tenet Health and more aim to give students their next opportunity.
Though the Career Expo will begin Thursday, Sept. 21 and last until the following day Sept. 22, students also have the chance to attend Career Week from Sept. 11 to Sept. 21. The career expo is sure to be a thrilling event as employers review resumes, help students with interview pitches, and have mock interviews. This event preps students so they are prepared to meet employers during Career Expo.
Students interested in job opportunities around campus and connecting with employers should visit the Handshake app, and Castro encourages all students to take advantage of these events.
“You have this time period in your life for you to grow as a professional and career interests,” Castro said. “Just know that there are a lot of people on campus who are here to help and support you, so take advantage of the resources that are here.”
The Career Center is in Room 103 of the Union Building West at UTEP. Anyone is welcome to walk in and explore the resources they offer. For more information about the Career Center and upcoming events visit utep.edu/student-affairs/careers.
Erik Acosta is the web and copy editor and may be reached at [email protected]
