Nearly 1,000 job seekers from across Colorado met with employers Thursday, Feb. 19, at the third-annual Colorado Multicultural Career and Internship Fair held at the Four Points by Sheraton Denver Southeast. The 2009 Fair was focused on sustainability and environmental stewardship.
The event was a strategic partnership between the University of Denver, University of Colorado at Denver, University of Colorado at Boulder, Metro State College, Colorado State University, Regis University, Colorado State University Pueblo, the City and County of Denver and the State of Colorado.
The fair was designed to connect students and alumni of color with employers committed to diversity. The free event was open to all of Colorado’s higher education students and alumni with a particular target audience of women, athletes and students of color.
“There is a real need to help employers find this population,” says Teresa Kostenbauer, event founder and director of corporate relations for the Daniels College of Business Suitts Center for Career Services. “This is event attracts the best employers and provides them with a one-stop-shop for the best and the brightest students while providing a welcoming and safe environment for women and students of color.”
Prior to the fair, the registered employers attended a morning of workshops to help them understand how to recruit and retain diverse talent. “Diversity is on everybody’s list of hiring guidelines,” said exhibitor Christian Pipe, a supervisory investigator with the District of Columbia Public Defender Service. “The workshops are very helpful, and this event far surpasses any other career fair that I have attended.”
More than 60 organizations exhibited, including Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Central Intelligence Agency, EchoStar Technologies, Oppenheimer Funds and Sun Microsystems.
“I’m so impressed with the students — they are prepared, knowledgeable, well-dressed and energetic,” said Chandra Venrick, human resources and payroll manager for Clear Channel. “I’ve only been here an hour, and I’ve already had more success here than I’ve had at the last four career and internship fairs I’ve attended.”