Graduating students have many choices as they start their new journey

Spring has finally come to Central Pennsylvania, a time more than any other season to celebrate the new. We can see it all around us. New flowers are beginning to bloom, baby chicks are arriving at farm stores and new spring fashion colors and accessories are being advertised on television.
 
Change also is in the air inside the halls of the Gettysburg Campus of HACC. The spring semester is almost over and students are registering for their summer and fall classes. For some students the arrival of spring means graduation.
 
Graduation can mean many things for a HACC student: entering the workforce as a new professional, re-entering the workforce with a set of new skills or transferring into a bachelor’s degree program at another college or university. In short, our students have many choices to make as they start their new journey. 
 
To help our students make informed choices about new options springing up all around them, colleges, universities and employers recently were invited to the campus to share information about their organizations with HACC students, community members and visiting high school students. The Job and Transfer Fair combined two formerly separate events into one to better serve our very busy student body. As a combined event, students had the opportunity to gather information and make educational and employment connections at one place and at one time.   
 
Representatives from 17 colleges and universities provided information on their programs of study, requirements and admissions information. Students seeking general information or those with specific questions about programs were given opportunities to speak with the school representatives. The institutions in attendance included those with programs on a campus, with entire or partial degrees online and degree completion programs.  
 
Students also had the opportunity to meet a diverse group of local employers who are currently hiring part-time and full-time workers and filling internship positions. Students majoring in everything from nursing and business to mechatronics and industrial technology were able to make personal connections and hopefully receive an interview at a later date. In some cases, employers interviewed the candidates on the spot.
 
So, while outside we can enjoy watching trees bloom and flowers open, inside, at HACC we are proud to watch our graduating students begin into their new journey.
 
HACC’s spring commencement will be held Tuesday, May 14, 2013, at 6 p.m. at the State Farm Show complex in Harrisburg.
 
Erin Rose is coordinator of career services at the Gettysburg Campus of HACC, Central Pennsylvania’s Community College