NEIU students and alumni attended the Career and Internship Fair, which had 60 employers tabling in Alumni Hall on April 3, 2025. The fair provided NEIU with an opportunity to kick-start their future careers.
Similar to the Fall 2024 semester, there was a high presence of K-12 education, non-profit organizations, and local, state and federal government tabling at the fair. However, there were other businesses that also were able to attend. This semester, Live Nation Entertainment tabled at the Career Fair. This entertainment company offered NEIU students a chance to explore careers in marketing, talent searching and receptionist duties.
The Career Fair had 64 tables spread across Alumni Hall. Employer tables featured candy, flyers, brochures and QR code signs to their websites for students to scan and research available job opportunities.
The Career Development Office estimated 400 NEIU students and alumni attended the Career Fair.
The Career Fair also offered free headshots for students to get professional photos and add them to networks such as LinkedIn and Handshake. A section near the entrance offered free professional wardrobes from the Power Closet for students to wear during job interviews.
Meeting the Employers at the Career Fair
Company banners and signs were presented behind every table, and approximately two representatives from each company were present at a table. Personalized stress balls, pens, and pop sockets were displayed to draw students to the tables.
One of these non-profit organizations was Trellus with 45 years of providing service. The company’s mission listed in the job and internship packet is “to empower immigrants, refugees and all underserved communities to thrive by removing barriers and providing supports that create opportunities for life.”
Catheryn Savino, director of behavioral health at Trellus, tabled at the fair. Savino was looking to hire a full-time bilingual mental health therapist from one of NEIU’s master’s programs.
“We have over 20 clients on a waitlist who only speak Spanish, and so therefore we’re looking for someone who is either in their last year of their master’s program and will be graduating soon, or has already obtained their master’s and is on the license-seeking track,” Savino said.
Internships are available for final-year master’s students and do not include bachelor-level internships at Trellus. However, NEIU students with a bachelor’s degree in human services can apply as a housing coordinator at Trellus.
“So we have certain grants throughout the city. So we have one with the AIDS Foundation. And housing coordinators work with those who are living with HIV/AIDS to help them find long-term, permanent housing,” Savino said.
While this position was not included in the information package, it demonstrates that networking at the tables can lead to more opportunities.
Another employer for the healthcare industry was Playful Mind Therapy, an Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy service provider for children with autism.
Maliha Khan, practice director at Playful Minds Therapy, explained that the clinic hires individuals with high school degrees for part-time, full-time, internship or volunteer positions. The clinic located in Bensenville provides on-site training and a state-certified license as a behavioral therapist.
“Anyone who’s with psychology, social work, basically anyone in healthcare can go into this field, special education, early childhood so we can get them trained,” Khan said. “Because we are doing mostly training on site for them, and getting them trained, and then having them prepared for a state license, so everything is being done while they’re working with us.”
Erin Panizzi, a recruiter for Huntington Bank Pavilion, explained the company is in search of part-time summer employees. Huntington Bank Pavilion is a Live Nation concert venue located on the lake in downtown Chicago. The company hosts shows between 10,000 and 30,000 people and requires many guest services staff to help put on shows and serve fans.
“We’ve never hired anyone from a recruitment event at NEIU, so we’re hoping this year will change that,” Panizzi said. “We’ve hired the most students from DePaul, Columbia, and UIC. They put on really big recruitment events and have a lot of students come.”
Huntington Bank Pavilion is currently hiring for their guest services department, operations team, and merchandise sellers.
“If you’re graduating or you’re still an undergrad and you’re looking to learn more about the music industry, this is the best way to start meeting people and understanding the way networking works,” Panizzi said.
Another company featured at the fair was Orchard Village. According to its website, Orchard Village is a fully licensed nonprofit organization that annually provides support to nearly 300 individuals with developmental disabilities in north and northwest Chicago. The company offers services for people with special needs, mostly adults from ages 23 and up.
“We’re currently hiring for internship positions that count for volunteer hours, a behavioral health clinic director, and a residential program manager,” said Laura Massironi, a recruiter for Orchard Village. “We’ve hired a student from NEIU in the past as an intern, and they currently work at our company today in the job coach role.”
Student Thoughts on NEIU’s Annual Spring Career and Internship Fair
The annual Spring Career and Internship Fair welcomed all students to a valuable opportunity to connect with employers, explore career options and build professional skills.
Isaac Mathew Abraham, a current undergraduate junior at NEIU majoring in cybersecurity, attended the annual career fair for a second time.
“I’m in search of a part-time internship in cybersecurity. I haven’t had any luck at the past career fair, but I’m very interested in the CDW corporation and Discovery Partners Institution opportunities here at the fair,” Abraham said. “I think the fair could be improved by adding more cybersecurity job opportunities and companies for students to explore.”
Most of the organizations in attendance focused on social work and school district jobs. Jennifer Juarez, an undergraduate junior at NEIU majoring in social work, attended the career fair for the first time.
“Although the career fair was very fast paced, you still have the opportunity to meet a lot of people and find what roles would be best for you in a job and where to start,” Juarez said. “I think the career fair is a little all over the place, and it could be improved by departmentalizing it all in some way and dividing companies into different categories based on what your major is.”
Clay Cofre, an undergraduate student with an English major and minors in Latino studies and creative writing, found the career fair disappointing as it lacked opportunities relevant to their degree, offering mostly entry-level jobs and positions requiring advanced degrees like a master’s degree.
“And also, I was kind of disappointed by the amount of schools and the type of schools that were present at the career fair, because there were really mostly just charter schools,” Cofre said.
Although there was a high presence of K-12 education, no Chicago Public Schools were tabling at the fair. There were seven charter schools and eight public school districts serving communities outside of the city.
Cofre recommended that the Physical Education Complex be used, which held the Latino College Expo last year, to increase career opportunities for more NEIU students.
“Bring in more [of] a little bit wider of a variety of participants because I also feel bad. Theoretically, if I was an art student, I would have walked into the room and been like, oh, wow, there’s literally not a single thing here for me,” Cofre said.
Navyasri Maskani, a master’s student in computer science, attended the career fair seeking summer internships and full-time positions.
While Maskani found most internships were filled and hiring for computer science was scarce, she was able to find a computer science-relevant position at the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago in IT application development.
“So each of every department I have went there, they have the positions open, but we have to be great in the skill which they are looking for. And also I find out that there is a lot of competition [in] the market outside, and particularly, I belong to this IT sector,” Maskani said.
However, Maskani plans to continue monitoring job listings and is not deterred by the current market conditions, as she has another semester to complete her master’s program at NEIU.
