Campus Connection

Fourth annual event is Friday, Feb. 2

A special career forum for UW-La Crosse College of Science and Health majors could be the right formula for students thinking about careers in science. The fourth annual event will help students discover lab science-related opportunities available in La Crosse and the region.   The forum is popular — nearly 200 students typically attend. It helps students who might be unsure what they want to do with their science degree. And, it’s a recruiting opportunity for the more than 20 employers planning to attend.   The UWL Science Career Forum runs from Noon-3 pm. Friday, Feb. 2, in The Bluffs, Student Union, 521 East Ave. N.   The event started four years ago when career advisors noticed a lack of lab-science employers attending the regular spring career fair. “We started reaching out to those employers that have hired our science students in the past,” explains Josh Bench, Student Services Coordinator in the UWL Career Services Office. “The event has grown since.”   The event has grown from eight organizations the first year to over 20 now. Bench says alumni, in particular, like to return. “You can tell alumni get a good feeling coming back to campus to talk with the next generation of scientists,” Bench says.   The most popular event during the forum is the annual panel of employers who share their experiences in the field. “This tells us that students want career information and advice from off-campus partners,” explains Bench. “Some students get to meet industry and government scientists through clubs and classes, but this is a rare chance to have one-on-one conversations.”   Bench says planners work to make the event appealing for all student from first-year majors to returning alumni. “I think students like that they can come back year after year and get something a little different each time,” he says.   With a new $82 million classroom and laboratory being built on campus, The Prairie Springs Science Center, employers coming to the forum will have the opportunity to tour the new laboratories students will be experiencing.   Bench says the forum also sparked a special opportunity for students graduating this spring. Covance Inc. will hold on-campus interviews on campus the Monday after the event, offering a unique chance for students to bypass the normal application process.   Employers planning to attend include: Aerotek Agropur Conservation Corps Minnesota & Iowa Covance Inc., a division of LabCorp Fastenal Co. Farmers Win Coop Forage Genetics International Gundersen Health System Logistics Health Incorporated Mayo Clinic MilliporeSigma Organic Valley PPD Laboratories Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center USDA NASS Upper Midwest Region U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service UWL Clinical Laboratory Science UWL Graduate Studies UWL Healthcare Analytics Management (minor program) Vernon County Land and Water Conservation Department Wisconsin Diagnostic Laboratories WisCorps   Get more information.   If you go—    What: UWL Science Career Forum When: Noon-3 pm. Friday, Feb. 2 Where: The Bluffs, UWL Student Union, 521 East Ave. N.            Admission: Free; no pre-registration required for students/staff/faculty