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You never know who you might run into at Southwestern Michigan College’s Career Fair.

Whether a community member seeking a new career or SMC students connecting with employers for their first post-college job, March 18’s event plumbed a diverse array of fields.

Career Fair filled 1^st Source Bank Fieldhouse in the Student Activity Center of the Charles O. Zollar Building.

“Career Fair was a strong success, with over 100 students and 22 community members in attendance,” SMC Career Development Manager Melinda Stockwell said.

“We were also pleased to partner with the Cassopolis/Vandalia Chamber of Commerce,” which hosted a table and held its monthly meeting during the event.

The Chamber was represented by Michelle Vite, who highlighted Twirl on Stone Lake in Cassopolis and its new venture, Mike’s Pizza Garage, set to open this summer, creating approximately 40 new jobs.

“Another highlight of the fair,” Stockwell said, “was SMC’s student concierge service. Students assisted employers with transporting materials and setting up booths.

“This service made a strong impression and demonstrated our students’ initiative, commitment to hospitality and professionalism,” Stockwell said.

Cass County Prosecutor Victor Fitz, who has held the elective office for 23 years, wanted to attract attorneys to serve as assistant prosecutors.

Spread across his table were copies of the Fall 2022 The Southwester with its profile of a current assistant prosecutor, 2017 alumna Aidan Traynor (Chasse), “Roadrunner at Law.”

Along with the Dowagiac Department of Public Safety fire and police services was the Dearborn Police Department, all the way from Wayne County.

Dearborn employs over 300 personnel, including a force of some 200 sworn officers and such specialized units as SWAT, Bomb Squad, Traffic Safety Bureau, Canine Unit, Surveillance Unit, Narcotics Unit, Community Policing Unit, Patrol and the Detective Bureau.

Flowers Early Learning (Tri-County Head Start), since its 1972 inception, has served over 40,000 children. Paw Paw-based Flowers Early Learning currently serves 583 children from birth to 5 years of age and their families in Berrien, Cass and Van Buren counties in home- and center-based programs, including one on SMC’s campus, one in Dowagiac and a third that will occupy the former St. John’s Lutheran Church school on McCleary Street.

Telamon since 1965 has been bringing human services to communities in 12 states. Chartered as a nonprofit, it aims to improve the lives of those in need by operating a diverse array of programs (early childhood education, health and social-emotional well-being, disability support, mental health, nutrition, family support and pregnant women) for farmworkers, children from low-income families and other special-needs groups. Telamon’s 10 centers include Decatur, Keeler, Watervliet and Sodus.

Fifth Wheel Freight of Grand Rapids, known by its big, block letters FWF, linked campus to trucking-industry opportunities.

Founded in 2012, FWF is a third-party logistics company, or 3PL, connecting businesses which have products to ship with companies which have the ability to move those specific products.

They don’t own trucks. They act as each shipper’s partner and use their skillset and network to find the most efficient way to move goods via trucks already on the road.

One of FWF’s representatives at SMC is the daughter of teachers who studied advertising in college — not logistics or sales.

Camp Kidwell is located on Eagle Lake in Bloomingdale. During summer months it hires 35-45 staff members for its camp program.

The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi was also recruiting for summer camps at Rodgers Lake.

Also hunting talent were: Hydro Aluminum Metals USA, Cassopolis; Corewell Health; 1^st Source Bank; American Electric Power; Beacon Health System; Beaudoin Electrical Construction; Kalamazoo County Government; Berrien County Juvenile Center; Bronson Healthcare Group; Building Restoration Group of Kalamazoo; Primerica of South Bend; Cass County; Cass County Courts; MORryde International of Elkhart; and Modineer.

Headquartered in Niles, Modineer manufactures more than 35 million components per year, has over 1,200 employees and operates nine facilities with combined square footage in excess of 1.3 million across Michigan, Indiana, Missouri, Pennsylvania and Juarez, Mexico.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services is a public assistance, child and family welfare agency. MDHHS directs the operations of five psychiatric facilities, public assistance and service programs throughout the state.

Midwest Energy and Communications, Cassopolis, brings comfort and convenience in the form of electric solutions to homes and businesses across 12 counties in rural southwest and southeast Michigan, and portions of northern Indiana and Ohio.

More than an electric utility, MEC also offers propane solutions and is deploying fiber internet to customers previously unserved or underserved.

Ernest Health, Mesquite, Texas, operates the Northern Indiana Rehabilitation Center, and also has hospitals in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Indiana, Montana, New Mexico, Ohio, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

Stockwell said employer representatives “consistently shared positive feedback, noting both the quality of student engagement and the professionalism displayed throughout the event.

“Career fairs continue to provide valuable opportunities for students and community members to build connections, develop professional communication skills and explore career pathways locally and beyond,” Stockwell said.

SMC hosted career fairs for many years prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and has continued to host them annually since 2021.

“While we have observed a decrease in the number of participating organizations, from a high of approximately 65 in previous years to 40 this year, the range of employers still represented the majority of our academic programs and career pathways,” Stockwell said.