More than 400 University of Florida College of Design, Construction and Planning students attended the annual Fall M.E. Rinker, Sr. School of Construction Management Career Fair held Wednesday morning at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center on the campus of the University of Florida.
“Whether you are recruiting, a student or even faculty in attendance today, you can tell DCP is a special place to be right now,” said Rinker Professor Ravi Srinivasan, who also serves as the college’s associate dean for research and strategic initiatives. “The excitement in the air is incredible.”
Coming from all over the Southeastern United States, an impressive 120-plus companies recruited Rinker students from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., before giving way to individual interviews at the recruiters’ invitation from 1 to 5 p.m. Filling up the entire floor of the venue as well as the practice court on the main concourse level, many UF graduates returned home to hire the next group of Gator greats.
“Rinker will always have a special place in my heart, and I can honestly say it was the best decision I have ever made in my life,” said Danton Carballa (BSBC ’09), who currently serves as vice president of ARCO/Murray Construction. “Getting to recruit current Gators with fresh faces is exciting and means a lot.”
Current students were just as excited, especially new students such as Carson Cooper, who is in his first semester at Rinker.
“This career fair shows why I made the right choice,” Cooper said. “I literally could not be in a better program. This is the place for me.”
For Rinker Academic Advisor Sallie Schattner, who has attended most of the 25 years of career fairs put on by Rinker, the full-circle moments that result in a “family reunion” type atmosphere are the most special.
“We have had 100 percent job placement at this event for more than two decades,” Schattner said. “Seeing the students graduate and then come back as recruiters is a very special cycle to witness over time.”
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