Computer Connections event a chance for students to meet employers

By Pablo Sanchez
Campus Editor

Computer Connections, an event for companies around Hutchinson to talk and meet Hutchinson Community College students, is scheduled for 10:20 a.m. Wednesday at the Justice Theater inside Shears Technology Center.

HutchCC Computer Science Instructor and Coordinator Matt Magee said that the event is geared toward getting companies that inform students of not what the companies do, but also for what they look for in hiring new employees.

“Our computer support specialist degree area is who is running the show,” Magee said. “It was my idea and Jackie (Long), Jill (Cunningham), Jesse (Newberry), Rod (Alexander) and Jeff (Heminway) who all contributed together to put it together.

Magee said each of the companies is going to be given 15-20 minutes, and that the event should be finished in and hour or so.

“We are scheduled for an hour and a half, so if there’s questions from the students to ask the companies,” Magee said.

“We already have a career connection for everybody, but we wanted to get something more specific to our area over here. They don’t know that there’s jobs available in Hutchinson, Kansas, for programing and web design.”

HutchCC Career Development and Placement Coordinator Jackie Long, who is also an advisor and instructor, said “We are hoping to get the word out on campus and especially through instructors. It seems that if instructors announce opportunity in their classrooms we always have a better response,” Long said.

“To have four major companies come to campus to talk to our students … what I’d want to see is that the job market is in a very good place for anyone preparing for a careers. Our connection to them is through that computer support advisor, but they have jobs in everything from accounting support, business office, automation, graphics, and lots of opportunities to learn from.”

Long said employers are known to contact the college for ways to connect with students, and that they are also attending the April 4 job fair, but they really want to get to know students early and personal.

“In the past, we try accommodate employers by saying ‘come to my class and talk 10-15 minutes to them,” Long said.

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