Students boarded buses to connect with more than two dozen companies and organizations, representing a broad cross section of industries from across the Greater Hartford area. They included high-tech manufacturers like Hartford Steam Boiler and Triumph Aerospace, insurance and healthcare companies such as CVS/Aetna and Travelers, and entertainment and cultural organizations like the Hartford Yard Goats and the New Britain Museum of Art.
Students chose their destinations to align with their career interests and goals, and the company representatives—many of whom are UHart alumni themselves—tailored the experiences accordingly.
At engineering firm EBM Papst, for example, students were able to see a live demonstration of an experiment in the company laboratory. Criminal justice majors visiting the South Windsor Police Department were treated to a K-9 demonstration with police dog Mason. And at advertising and marketing agency CashmanKatz, students toured the editing spaces as well as the in-house podcast and photoshoot studios.
For one group of students from The Hartt School, Career Exploration Day took place on campus with a presentation from the Hartford Symphony Orchestra (HSO), courtesy of two UHart alumni, Steve Collins ’89 and Mariel Christiana ’22. Collins, the orchestra’s president and CEO, and Christiana, its corporate and foundations relations manager, spoke with students about how they’ve made their careers in the arts.
Career Exploration Day has become one of UHart’s signature annual events aimed at building career readiness into every aspect of the student experience. Others are still to come: UHart’s annual Professional Etiquette Dinner allows students to practice the essentials of conducting professional conversations over a four-course meal, with alumni and industry professionals giving them pointers; while in the spring, Career to Classroom events will bring industry representatives to campus. All these events add up to valuable networking opportunities which can lead to career success after graduation.