URI Engineering & Technology Career Fair Returns to the Ryan Center

More than 500 engineering students attended the URI Engineering & Technology Career Fair at the Ryan Center. (URI photo by Lauren Creamer)

URI Engineering Career Fair — A URI student (left) speaks with a representative from Tiffany & Co. at the Engineering & Technology Career Fair. URI photo by Kat Billo.

By Neil Nachbar

For the first time since 2019, the University of Rhode Island Engineering & Technology Career Fair was held as an in-person event at the Ryan Center.

The fair, which gives hundreds of students an opportunity to learn about career and internship opportunities directly from industry representatives, was held on Oct. 5.

“Thanks to everyone who supported the career fair, it was a great return to fully-fledged in-person fairs on campus,” said Lauren Creamer, coordinator of career services and employer relations for URI’s College of Engineering.

Employers were pleased with the turnout of the students and the exchanges they had with them.

“As a proud supporter of URI, Toray was happy to attend the Engineering & Technology Career Event,” said Peg Lamere, senior recruiter at Toray Plastics America. “We had meaningful conversations with more than 70 students, all of whom were well-prepared and enthusiastic.”

Some of the industry representatives, such as Marco DeFruscio of Rite-Solutions in Middletown, were URI graduates.

Rhody the Ram at career fair — A small group of students pose for a photo with Rhody the Ram at the Career & Technology Career Fair. URI photo by Lauren Creamer.

“It was a great honor to speak with so many engineering students at the University of Rhode Island,” said DeFruscio, who earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering in spring 2022. “It’s important for students to understand how they can apply their skills and passion into the workforce. We’ve had great success with URI students who have joined our engineering internship programs.”

Dara Clough earned bachelor’s degrees from URI in civil and environmental engineering and Spanish through the International Engineering Program, and a master’s degree from URI in civil and environmental engineering. She represented the engineering and planning firm McMahon Associates at the career fair.

“It was great to be back at URI to speak to the next round of up-and-coming engineers,” said Clough, who is a senior project engineer. “We received quite a few resumes. A couple of the students already applied for full-time jobs and internship positions. When speaking with the students, it was very clear that URI provides a high-quality engineering education and gives students the skills that McMahon and other engineering firms look for.”