Career Success Conference Captivates Students
Photo courtesy of csc.uttyler.edu
By PORTER STAGGERS/Staff Writer
Thursday, Oct. 19, the Career Success Conference came for UT Tyler students. This year’s conference was the fifth to be held on campus, and included a wide variety of panels with many guest speakers. Panel topics varied, with civil engineering, communications/media television and radio, and even gaming/information technology panels taking place.
“[The Career Success Conference] is an opportunity to grow and meet other potential employers and companies,” student Darlene Gonzalez-Soto said. “I met three potential employers, and they talked about their experience in engineering. It just opened up a lot of conversations that you typically wouldn’t have at a career fair or interview.”
John Boettcher, director of the Heart Cardiovascular Electrophysiology Training Program at UT Health, speaks at the Career Success Conference. More than 100 business leaders came to campus to inspire students. Photo by Porter Staggers.
At least one speaker hosted each panel and gave tips and anecdotes of their own experiences in their field. Some speakers, like Cameron Phillips, were alumni of UT Tyler. Phillips was one of three speakers at the Law panel.
“I am speaking at the Attorney panel. It was good. I could tell that most of the students had thought about pursuing a legal career, and seemed like they knew what they were talking about. I went to UT Tyler back in 2012, and went to the Archer Fellowship in Washington D.C. through UT Tyler,” he said. “I come back every once in a while to participate in different alumni events, and this seemed like an appropriate thing to do.”
UT Tyler students take a break between sessions of Career Success Conference. The annual event offered a chance for students to learn more about careers in dozens of industries. Photo by Porter Staggers.
Each speaker gave appropriate and helpful advice such as how to act during interviews, how to build a resumé, which classes to take, and how to build networking skills. The panelists were able to provide first-hand knowledge and experience to their attendees.
“I want to be a juvenile counselor, and I saw that they had a criminal justice panel, and a probation officer,” said Deonna Wright, who attended the conference. “They [the panelists] are at the job. I want to get there, and they told me what they’re looking for. That was perfect to me. I really did enjoy the way they talked about the job. All of my questions were answered completely.”
In addition to each panel session, attendees and speakers were given an opportunity to network and communicate with each other at the Networking Lunch.
If you weren’t able to attend the Career Success Conference in 2023, don’t worry! The Office of Career Success has held the conference for several years in a row, so keep an eye out for a potential CSC in 2024!