YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Youngstown State University freshmen Aidan Lucci and Keegan Sommers, both of Salem, checked out the fall STEM Expo to learn more about available opportunities.
Lucci is majoring in chemical engineering, and Sommers is studying civil and construction engineering.
The expo Thursday at YSU’s Stambaugh Stadium was the first such event Sommers has attended, so he planned to learn more about some of the companies that participated.
Lucci was gathering information and trying to get a feel for the companies and what they’re looking for “so when I come back again with way more stuff on my resume, stuff that looks good, I’m ready, and I can try to get an internship.”
More than 100 companies registered for the event, which is conducted each fall and spring semester. Companies were looking for interns and full-time employees.
Butech Bliss in Salem, Dearing Compressor in Youngstown, Howmet Aerospace in Niles and Steel Equipment Specialists LLC in East Alliance sponsored the expo, which was expected to draw hundreds of YSU students and alumni.
Randy Smrek, assistant sales manager at Butech Bliss, said the company has been attending the YSU STEM Expo for years and employs several YSU alumni in engineering positions.
“We’re always looking for engineers, so either electrical engineering or mechanical engineering,” said Smrek, a YSU graduate. “Electrical is primarily for the engineering design group, but mechanicals we use in our sales department as well.”
The company has had success at the event.
“Every time we’re here, we get a good collection of people that we can consider for various opportunities,” Smrek said. “It just depends on what they want.”
He said YSU students come to Butech Bliss prepared.
“They just seem to be more mature in terms of the actual workload that they’re going to see,” Smirk said. “So in most cases, they’re not shocked or surprised at what they might see when they actually come to work. They dig right in and they’ve got a quicker, better learning curve” than students from other universities.
Engineering students were in demand among employers who attended.
Representatives from both NMLK, which has offices in Sharon and Farrell, Pa., and EMH&T of Columbus attended, hoping to fill engineering roles.
“We’re hoping to kind of strengthen the relationship with YSU and then try to create somewhat of a pipeline for material science engineers, mechanical engineers and electrical engineers,” said Cody Nicholson, an NMLK HR generalist.
The company hoped to find prospective interns. Besides engineering knowledge, NMLK is looking for people who will be dedicated to the company, have a desire to learn and the ability to grow with the organization.
Thursday’s STEM Expo was the first one EMH&T representatives attended at YSU, and they were interested in civil engineering students, said Kaitlyn Erlewine, human resources coordinator at the company.
“We actually emailed the universities in Ohio that have civil engineering programs, asking for some data on how many civil engineering majors that they had based on their total student population,” she said. “We were really impressed with the data that YSU provided.”
But the company is looking for students with other attributes too.
“In general, we like to say we’re just looking for students who have a passion for what they do,” Erlewine said. “The ones that really take an interest in their future career. The ones who kind of … make that extra effort.”
The company appreciates when students follow up and keep in contact, she said.
Donovan Hibbert of Boston, a mechanical engineering major, and Imani Lang of Cleveland, a STEM physical science major, both freshmen, acknowledged they were attending the expo because it’s a class requirement. But they wanted to learn about the companies that were there too.
Hibbert works for Keolis, the company that runs Boston’s commuter rail system, and after graduation he hopes to get a job called a rail master. He described it as a systems engineer that works on and runs the rails.
Lang plans to be a pharmacist.
YSU’s size figured into both Lang’s and Hibbert’s decisions to enroll.
“It’s not too big but it’s not too small,” Hibbert said.
Lang agreed. She graduated from a midsize high school where everybody knew everybody else.
“And I feel like that’s what it is here, kind of,” she said. “I enjoy the community. Everybody’s friendly. It’s a really good environment, very positive.”
Pictured at top: YSU students Aidan Lucci and Keegan Sommers.
