Career Connections

Bauer Students Network with Houston’s Biggest Employers

By Monica Resh & Amanda Sebesta
Published on February 13, 2025

More than 1,600 students and recruiters gathered at the University of Houston Hilton for the Rockwell Career Center’s Spring Business Career Fair.

The biannual networking event allowed students to meet with some of Houston’s most high-profile employers across all business disciplines. Representatives from Academy Sports + Outdoors, CITGO, Dell Technologies, Fidelity, H-E-B, Mattress Firm, TDECU, The Hershey Company, and Uniqlo USA were among the companies discussing employment opportunities with Bauer students.

“It’s much more personal to come in person and meet the companies. Then, whenever they host luncheons or have pop-ups, you can continue to keep that connection and eventually turn it into a job.”
Ayra Siddiqui, management information systems sophomore

Management information systems sophomore Ayra Siddiqui networks with a representative from Epic at the Bauer Career Fair

Kelly Collins, acting department head and director of Bauer Graduate and Alumni Career Services with the Rockwell Career Center gets ready to help local business representatives find their booths at the Career Fair.

Megan Bauml, Assistant Director, Undergraduate Career Services helps students sign in at the UH Hilton ahead of the Bauer Career Fair

Raji Aiyer, Director of Employer Relations, monitors the floor helping students and potential employers connect!

Kelly Collins, acting department head and director of Bauer Graduate and Alumni Career Services with the Rockwell Career Center, echoed Siddiqui’s comments and said these opportunities are important because they open up possibilities students may never have considered.

“Students can grow their networks and figure out maybe there's something they never knew they liked,” Collins said.

Megan Bauml, assistant director of Undergraduate Career Services in the Rockwell Career Center, said students should take advantage of career fairs no matter how far along they are in the job search process.

“The Bauer Career Fair provides a great opportunity for students to get in front of employers to introduce themselves,” Bauml said. “They get to have important conversations and for employers to know who they are. The earlier the students can start recruiting and start that networking process, the better, because it’s going to be easier when they are actively looking for a job.”

However, it isn’t just students who benefit from the fair. Raji Aiyer, director of Employer Relations at Bauer, said potential employers are getting both quality and quantity.

“It is so hard to just go through a big stack of résumés,” Aiyer said. “But by being here, companies get to see our students as a whole, to see the quality of our students and get to know them.”

She added: “A lot of the employers and recruiters are Bauer alumni, so that gives them a chance to come and feel like they gave back and bring more alumni into their company.”