By Megan Rule | Staff Writer
The second floor of the Bill Daniel Student Union Building was a popular place to be Thursday afternoon as students of various classifications and majors gathered for Federal Day, an opportunity to learn more about career paths in the federal government.
“The goal of Federal Day is to increase student awareness of the large quantity and high quality of job opportunities that federal agencies can offer to Baylor students,” Adam Kaye, director of employer relations in the Baylor Office of Career and Professional Development, said in an email to the Lariat.
The event took place from 2 to 5 p.m. Thursday afternoon and offered a panel with presentations from different agencies, a time for questions and answers and wrapped up with networking opportunities.
The agencies in attendance included the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. Drug Enforcement Adminstration, the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, the Air Force Civilian Service, the Central Intelligence Agency, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of State.
“I’m most looking forward to the feedback and the interest from the students about what their goals are and their plans after they graduate,” Sheri Armstrong-Hardy, administrative specialist for the FBI of San Antonio, said.
Armstrong was part of the panel with the other agencies present, and said her goal was to answer questions about the internship program with the FBI. Armstrong said on other campuses she visited, internships were a hot topic among college students, and she recommends students look at those as soon as possible. Students were able to get a wide range of information from the government agencies about the job criteria, application requirements and what working for the government entails.
Kaye said that these agencies do not visit every college or university. Baylor has been selected as a university in which they see high potential for student hiring. This was the first event of its kind that CPD has hosted, Kaye said, and the planning was extensive. CPD connected with numerous government agencies, coordinated dates for campus visits for as many agencies as possible and created a program that would be mutually beneficial for both the agencies and students.
“I am studying linguistics, so I wanted to see if there are opportunities for majors that aren’t necessarily what you would think of to work in the government,” Mountain View, Calif., junior Rachel Risk said. “So I want to see what kind of opportunities there are for me.”
Risk said the presentations given allowed students like her to learn what people in government jobs do and how the government works, as well as presented opportunities for jobs post-graduation.
“I am most looking forward to showcasing our outstanding student body to each of the nine federal agencies in attendance, many of which have never been to campus,” Kaye said. “I am confident that every agency will say they plan to return to Baylor to recruit again because our students will impress them.”
