By Lily Nussbaum | Staff Writer, Pierson Luscy | Broadcast Reporter

Students garbed in their best professional attire flocked to the Paul L. Foster Campus for Business and Innovation to meet and make connections with around 150 potential employers for Career Day.

As the Career Center’s largest on-campus event each semester, Career Day created an environment that allowed students to learn about companies in their field, make connections and potentially earn jobs or internships.

“It’s a great way to get your name out there, get to talk to some people and learn about companies that I don’t know about,” Aspen, Colo., junior Jonathan Woodrow said.

In the months leading up to Career Day, Career Center director Amy Rylander said she searches for employers who students want to see in addition to employers who wish to see Baylor students.

“This is the first time that we’ve ever had to turn employers away,” Rylander said. “The news has gotten out to the employers that Baylor talent is second to none.”

As students walked around and talked to employers, they could scan individualized QR codes for each company. The Career Center will send the name, email, major and resume of each student who scanned a QR code directly to the respective employer.

Instead of walking the booths as a student, Katy junior Cayden Conrad worked Career Day as a UKG employee. She said she took pride in informing her fellow Baylor students of her company and the opportunity to intern while attending school.

“I see friends passing by, and I want to include them in on this amazing opportunity and really introduce them to the culture,” Conrad said.

McKinney junior Tim Longoria said he came to Career Day to get his “foot in the door” and discover what options are available as a journalism major. When exploring, Longoria said there were more employers within his field than he expected, but he said he hopes to see it extended in the future.

“I’m not disappointed whenever I came here, and I’m so glad that I talked to those companies, but I wish there was a little more to play with,” Longoria said.

Signified by a gold ribbon, many employers in attendance were Baylor alumni. Annabelle Herschend, Baylor alumna and associate consultant at Capco, said she landed her current job attending Career Day as a student.

“It’s a really good way to make connections and get to see people that have graduated, because a lot of people have gone to Baylor,” Herschend said. “You kind of get to hear in a new way about what people do and in a personal way.”

Lilly Robbins, Baylor alumna and primary billing analyst at Phillips 66, said she attended Career Day as a student and worked in the Career Center. She said returning as an alumna is heartwarming, as she owes much of her career success to her Baylor education.

“I learned like really important soft skills, not only different things about finance and accounting — soft skills like how to manage my time, how to ask for help and how to be a good person,” Robbins said.