“The career fair — for us — is an opportunity for students to reach out to companies who give them the opportunity to have an internship or full-time job,” said Joshua DeBlaay, a supply chain management junior and the SCM Career Fair director.

“I see it as an opportunity for students to become more comfortable … with upper management officials.”

DeBlaay said students’ chances of working for a company after graduation as a result of attending the career fair are high.

“A lot of these (internships) lead to full-time jobs,” he said. “That’s probably the biggest opportunity, just to build their résumé.”

Potential employers also saw benefits coming to MSU.

“One of the reasons we try to target MSU is (because of) their supply chain management program,” said Marcelo Rolim, a supply chain associate with The Hershey Company. “They’re one of the top three schools (in that area).”

MSU’s undergraduate supply chain management major was ranked No. 2 in the nation in August 2010 by U.S. News & World Report’s Best Colleges 2011 report.

General Motors Co., a corporation with prior experience at the event, echoed those sentiments.

“I think our goal is to engage new people to the industry,” said Lonnie Meyers, a team leader in electrical storage systems at GM who spoke with event attendees. “MSU is one of the best institutions we work with for supply chain management.”

Meyers said MSU’s strengths in that area have led to positive relationships.

“They have a very diverse background. I think they give an accurate picture of
real-world events,” he said. “We have a highly successful rate of movement from interns to full-time jobs — we have a lot of Spartans at GM.”

In addition to returning companies such as GM, Kraft Foods and IBM, the career fair also welcomed at least one new corporation this year.

The Walt Disney Company made its first appearance at the SCM Career Fair with specific students in mind.

“We’re looking for enthusiastic, creative, capable, innovative individuals,” said Deborah Coombs, the director of category sourcing in new media and technology with Disney Worldwide Services Inc. “We’ve decided more recently to look for individuals without a lot of industry experience, and we’re willing to give them that experience.”

Blake Jendrusch, a supply chain management sophomore who attended the event, said it was a great chance to gain experience relating to his major.

“Each employer has at least two or three openings,” he said. “I wouldn’t miss this because … there are so many opportunities.”