Job Fair Succeeds

Posted by Charli Renken in Campus, Students

Joy Rice recruits students for IFAA. Photo by Kyleigh Carter.

Students flocked to the Fogelson Library March 11 as a variety of employers visited the campus to recruit for summer positions. While the majority of students attended the event to submit their RA application for ArtFest, there were several other summer employment options for students. With a mix of part time internships and full time job opportunities, resumes were flying every which way.

One of the most popular employers was the International Folk Art Alliance, which was looking for students interested in organizing the yearly International Folk Art Market during the second weekend of July. Inspired by its mission to celebrate and preserve folk art traditions, many students spoke with Joy Rice about the IFAA’s market art team. The market features artists from approximately 55 countries and brings in 20,000 visitors each year. There are currently only eight positions available, which Career Services Director Joanie Spain says are entirely filled by SFUAD students.

“I’m here specifically looking for an art team of eight members who will work alongside myself and 80 volunteers to create, modify [and] construct decor for the market,” says Rice who is looking for creative, hardworking students who support the IFAA mission. The market is coming up on its twelfth year of production and students who are hired for the position will begin work in June.

SITE Santa Fe visits SFUAD. Photo by Kyleigh Carter.

Another big draw to the fair was SITE Santa Fe, the contemporary art center on Paseo De Peralta by the Railyard. Students have been partnering with SITE for years. In fact, both representatives present at the job fair were connected to SFUAD with one current student and one ’11 alumni. May Reimer, a junior Studio Art major on campus, interns at SITE Santa Fe in the education department. SITE Santa Fe offers a wide variety of internship positions.

“We range from [a variety of] different departments. It is all based on what you’re interested in as an individual,” says Reimer. “There’s different departments like administration, as well as facilities, which help build up the physical shows, as well as curatorial and exhibitions department where you specifically pick the artists and pieces that go into the shows, or you assist with it.” This variety and ability to choose a specific department is what causes many students to choose SITE Santa Fe as part of their summer plans.

Another big draw to the job fair was the application for ArtFest RAs. Every year students rush to get their applications in for the opportunity to be an RA over the summer break. It’s a simple way to stay on campus during the summer and provides students with a unique leadership opportunity.

“[In our applicants we look for] charisma, uniqueness and nerve,” says David DeVillier, assistant director to Student Life on campus. DeVillier says they also want enthusiasm, and a willingness to learn. Applicants must be personable and mature to land a spot as an ArtFest RA. “During ArtFest there are far more activities in the daytime so it’s more involved during the day time,” DeVillier explains. Applications are due March 23 with interviews to follow. There are approximately 25 positions available.

Joanie Spain, Career Services director at SFUAD, organizes the summer job fair every year around midterms to “provide our students who want to stay in Santa Fe, or know they’re going to be in Santa Fe, options for summer employment and internships… I think it’s important that art students, particularly art students, understand the variety of options they have to utilize their education and to make connections within the greater Santa Fe artistic community.”

When choosing the many companies and organizations to attend the job fair, Spain and her team reached out to both the community at large as well as those companies which are on the university’s website.

Students who attended the fair were excited about the opportunities available to them, not only for the jobs and internships but also to stay in the city over the break. “Santa Fe is a really nice place. I enjoy it,” says musical theatre major Rhianna Westbrook. She was especially excited about the possibility of being an ArtFest RA.

Studio Arts junior, Tiki “Fame” Hudson was also excited about the fair. “This is my third year coming to the job fair and every year they always have different opportunities to seek employment…I meet a lot of my classmates here. We’re able to talk and I get to see what people are doing for the summer…I think it’s pretty cool that the school puts on this job fair for us. It’s very convenient to have off-campus employers on campus.” Hudson came to the job fair for a very specific reason. She wants to be a DFC front desk worker during ArtFest. Hudson also had the opportunity to speak with a financial advisor, which she initially didn’t think she’d be interested in, but gained valuable knowledge for the many projects she is involved in off-campus, such as February’s performance of “For Colored Girls.”

Job fairs are a wonderful resource for students. Many students don’t realize how transferable their skills as artists are until after they attend the job fair. Events like these make students aware of the multitude of options available to them. Most organizations present at the job fair were looking for students of all kinds, regardless of their major, which opens up possibilities to students who may have otherwise thought their major wasn’t marketable. Student attendees left the fair with high hopes about their summer employment and employers left with an enormous stack of resumes to sort through, making the event a major success.