The career fair and emerging pop stars by Melis A. '08

The MIT Career Fair was last Thursday, when three hundred companies set-up booths in our athletic facility to try to recruit MIT students. While the fair was specifically tailored to graduating seniors looking for full-time jobs, underclassmen also attended to try to secure summer internships as well. It was quite a spectacle, as 3500 MIT students and alumni, armed with power suits, gold Brass Rats, and stellar resumes, made their way through the maze of prospective employers. Some were looking for a career; others had their sights on the free goodies (ranging from t-shirts to USB drives to hot-pepper sauce.)

My favorite Career Fair activity has always been the dinner banquet, organized by the Society for Women Engineers (SWE). From 6 – 8 pm, some MIT undergrads had the opportunity to network with company representatives over a wonderful buffet dinner. It was a very intimate setting and an extraordinary opportunity to really get to know about a company. I was seated at a table with three other upperclassmen and five employees of Ethicon Endo-surgery, a medical devices company. We learned all about the structure of the company, previous intern’s projects, life in Cincinnati, the product design process, what life after MIT is like, and more!

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Oh, and I must mention this… On Friday night, I had the pleasure of attending Zeta Beta Tau’s semi-annual dessert soiree. Not only did I get to consume dozens of scrumptious chocolate-covered bits of heaven, but I also had the privilege of watching Bryan’s stunning karaoke rendition of *NSYNC’s classic, “Bye Bye Bye.” Yes, the same Bryan that does tissue engineering research in the lab of a certified genius also serenades unsuspecting audience members.