Dear Members,

I still remember my first professional career fair. As a second year student in Cal Poly-SLO's Architectural Engineering program, my classmates and I dressed up in our professional attire (me in a coat and tie) and carpooled to the Embassy Suites. We were just figuring out what structural engineering was all about in our academic program and this career fair gave us an invaluable opportunity to meet top engineers at the top firms in Southern and Northern California that were looking for new talent. I did not land a job at one of those firms that summer (I stayed more local to my parent's house and interned at a very small engineering firm instead), but several of those company representatives made a lasting impression on me and opened my eyes to the structural engineering profession.

Over the many years since then, I have met many, many students that have made a lasting impression on me from the other side of the table. I leave every career fair impressed by the potential new talent and anxious to get interviews scheduled before these impressive students get snatched up!

As we enter another hiring season, our SEAOSC board is excited to once again provide THE premier in-person job fair for structural engineering students in Southern California. On February 12th, SEAOSC will host its in-person career fair since 2020, which will be the pre-event to our annual Emerging Engineer's and Foundation Scholarship program later that same evening. Nowhere else, will students from Southern California's top engineering schools be all in one place. Registration for firms will be open soon (space will be limited) and students will want to get this date on their calendars for this invaluable opportunity to network with these top engineers at the top firms in Southern California. You can be assured that this career fair will leave a lasting impression on you and you will not want to miss out.

Garrett W. Mills, S.E.
SEAOSC President 2024-25