Career Fair Connects Students With a World of Work

Thirty-eight employers—each with at least one entry-level job or internship opening to fill—gathered in Mills Hall Wednesday afternoon for the second annual Bowdoin Career Fair. They were eager to meet students and perhaps make a match.

Attendees included art museums, med-tech companies, government agencies, climate research organizations, PR/communications firms, lifestyle brands, and many more.

“We are thrilled to welcome a breadth of employers seeking the talent and skillsets that a Bowdoin liberal arts education develops,” said event organizer Dawn Gerding, director of employer engagement for Career Exploration and Development (CXD).

Many of the employers, she said, secured their spot because of a Bowdoin connection at the company. Almost half were alumni themselves, talking with students about their work and their own transitions from college to career.

Students came and went throughout the three-hour event, introducing themselves and talking about their studies and interests, picking up business cards and free stickers, and signing up for job and internship updates.

Senior Sara Ito-Bagshaw ’27 stopped by to “explore what opportunities are out there.” After scanning the list of companies, she headed to Boston-based WHOOP, which makes wearable fitness technology.

An ice hockey player, Ito-Bagshaw hopes to work in the sports world while drawing on her Asian studies major and international background. She planned to ask WHOOP about opportunities in global sales and whether the company intends to expand overseas.

Liz Bouchard ’26, who graduated last May, was at the fair to talk about her work as a medical assistant at Dermatology and Skin Health. The New England company offers a year-long post-baccalaureate position for college graduates before they attend medical or physician assistant school.

Bouchard, who is studying for the MCAT now, said she appreciates the exposure she's gaining to different aspects of health care. “I wanted to get clinical experience before medical school, and more time with patients,” she said.

Audrey Esteves, a recent Bates College graduate, was at the fair to talk about a unique one-year post-baccalaureate position at the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Massachusetts, which is open only to graduates of Maine colleges.

The position, as special assistant to the museum director, is “an amazing opportunity” that brings together art, art history, and academia, Esteves said. It could appeal to students interested in museums, art, and history.

First-year Hamdi Mohamed ’30, dressed in a snappy blue shirt and tie, said he came to learn more about the kinds of businesses interested in hiring Bowdoin students. Though he was particularly curious about medical companies because he plans to pursue pre-med studies, he said he intended to “just walk around and see what catches my eye.”

His friend Lauren Teodoro ’30 noted that “a lot of the companies here really want to talk to you.”

By that point, she had visited several of the presenters she had circled on her event guide. Sharing some of her annotations she had scribbled in the margins, she added, “There is so much diversity—an opportunity for every student.”