
This semester, the O’Brien Center at Merrimack is making big changes to its event formatting. They are moving away from the large all-major career fair and instead having smaller, more major-specific fairs.
The decision was made primarily based on student feedback, as the Student Government Association (SGA) ran a poll last semester that reflected this desire for change.
The director of the O’Brien Center, Shannon Zelek, followed through with these changes, which will create a more valuable and less stressful experience for Merrimack students.
“Most of our events [are] going to be anywhere from five to 20 companies. You’re not going to get the same sensation of walking into the MPR and [maybe] feeling overwhelmed,” she said. “You’re not going to be waiting at a table for ten minutes…there might be just one or two students in front of you, and you can talk to [the company for] longer.”
She emphasized that smaller, major-specific, career fairs will make it easier for students to talk to companies that perfectly align with their interests.
“Now you can hone in on what it is you’re looking for,” she said. “We’re hosting sport management and hospitality [for example]. So if you’re looking to work for a sports team, [or] you want to get more of [a] hotel or food and beverage experience, you can dive deeper into those spaces.”
There’s also going to be more off-campus events offered this semester. Students will visit local companies to get tours and network.
Chris Milliken and the employer relations team at Merrimack, partnered with these companies and organizations to help students get the exposure they need.
Shannon stresses the importance of off-campus events.
“Sometimes you need to leave campus to learn really cool things, and sometimes it means you find something you’re not going to love,” she said. “It might be visiting a corporate office and you’re like, I don’t know if I could see myself at a desk from nine to five every day.”
A few employers are lined up already, with more to come throughout the semester. Visits already planned include a radio station for students interested in learning about the behind-the-scenes of broadcasting. Another trip will be to a pharmaceutical company that makes medical devices and prescribed drugs that doctors give to patients.
This summer, Shannon was promoted to director after working with Merrimack for seven years. She went to school at Coe College in Iowa, and moved to Massachusetts after finding Merrimack on an online search engine for paid graduate experiences. She started in employer relations at Merrimack for her first four years, and then moved into a career connections role for two years before becoming director.
Shannon has already made an impact for Merrimack students with this change in events, as she wants students to take full advantage of the college experience before graduating.
“There’s so many good events, opportunities and things that we have available for students that I want everyone to take a piece of,” she said. “We have a fantastic team and we work really closely with the career advisors in the decentralized offices. I love every minute of it.”
For students looking for information about upcoming events, there are many different places to find it including Handshake, CORQ, Instagram, LinkedIn and flyers around campus.