Many new opportunities lie ahead for both recent graduates of the University who are now striving to pursue the career of their dreams and for returning students who will be staying in Bowling Green over the summer.

Over 2,200 students graduated earlier this month, according to Career Center Assistant Director Keisha Taylor.

Many graduates gained job-seeking experience from events such as the teacher job fair held at Perry Field House in April. Over 104 school districts from states such as Alaska, Florida, Arizona and Texas were present at the fair. However, most of the employers were still from districts in Ohio. The fair generated over 1,700 interviews according to Taylor.

Even though it has been perceived by many that college graduates tend to be target victims of unemployment and underemployment, Taylor also said that students can follow several important guidelines to stand out to employers and not fall into this possible trap.

“They have done their homework on employers,” Taylor said. “They’re polished on their one-minute commercial.”

Taylor said co-ops and internships help students gain more experience and become more marketable when its time to get a job.

On the other end of the spectrum, many returning students are seeking summer jobs.

Over 350 students attended the summer job fair in March.

According to Student Employment Director Dawn Chong, there was a decrease in attendance at the summer job fair this year, but there were still positive results.

“The students that came this year were more prepared,” Chong said.

In order to make students even more prepared and likely to attend the summer job fair, it will take place next year after spring break on March 26 instead of being right before spring break, as in previous years.

Chong said students tend to be more focused on spring break instead of the fair when it is right before spring break.

Some noteworthy employers at the fair included Fedex, Put-in-Bay, Girl Scouts and many different camps, some of which are located in New York and Massachusetts.

Whether students are graduating or returning to finish the remainder of classes for their degree, experience and effort to show that experience will impress employers and make them more likely to hire prospective workers.