HPU Students Make Career Connections with Employers at Life Skills Career Summit

High Point University students learned about a variety of jobs and internships as they met with recruiters from nearly 100 national, regional and local employers during HPU’s annual Life Skills Career Summit at the Nido and Mariana Qubein Arena and Conference Center on Feb. 10.

HIGH POINT, N.C., Feb. 17, 2026 – High Point University students learned about a variety of jobs and internships as they met with recruiters from nearly 100 national, regional and local employers during HPU’s annual Life Skills Career Summit at the Nido and Mariana Qubein Arena and Conference Center on Feb. 10.

Dressed in professional attire, students spoke with dozens of recruiters, including from well-known brands such as the Boeing Company, Canon USA, Gartner, PNC Bank and Xerox, about securing a summer internship or a job after graduation. They also had the opportunity to take a complimentary professional headshot to update their LinkedIn accounts.

“Being able to talk with employers is great practice for interviews,” said Jonathan Olik, a senior business administration major from Freehold, New Jersey. “We’re just getting out there so they can see us and we see how they react to who we are.”

HPU’s Office of Career and Professional Development organizes career and internship expos twice each academic year to connect undergraduate and graduate students with employers. They also host additional career fairs focused on specific majors and dozens of professional development events. The career summit attracts companies from across the country, as well as state-level and local firms.

“Coming to events like this helps them by building self-confidence,” said Dr. Doug Hall, HPU’s vice president of career and professional development. “The whole notion is of building relationships and interacting with live individuals, where a lot of the applications are online and you don’t really talk to a live person. We’re intentional about inviting a lot of different organizations that serve nearly all our majors. In addition to learning about the company, students can ask employers what opportunities would help cultivate these skills that are transferable and translatable in a lot of different spaces regardless of where they want to go, whether it’s on to their next internship, full-time job or graduate or professional school.”

Students Gain Insight, Networking Skills         

Aidan Soto, a senior entrepreneurship major from Laudon, Virginia, said he wanted to attend the career summit to meet with different companies and see what options might be out there for him.

Amelia Courbron, a junior finance major from Stratford, Connecticut, also talked about the career fair as an opportunity to explore options for jobs and internships.

“Whether getting an internship and zeroing in on that or just looking out for my options, I feel like this is a good place to start for people that haven’t,” she said. “There’s a lot of opportunities here.”

Alexander Bobb, a physics major from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, will graduate in December. He was focused on his future as he walked through the conference center and met with recruiters.

“It allows students to see what’s out there, what kind of jobs are available for students, get connected and actually start the process of applying or interning,” Bobb said.

Employers Share Workplace Needs

Christian Davies, a Boeing supply quality representative, talked with students about opportunities with the American aerospace company that operates in 65 countries. It was the first time Boeing participated in HPU’s Life Skills Career Summit, but Davies had come to campus recently to speak to a supply chain class.

“I really love High Point University, so I want to connect with the talented students here,” Davies said. “We need extraordinary people. Our interns often come back to get hired.”

Lisa Carlson, a Class of 2016 alumna, returned to campus as a manager of university recruiting for Gartner, a well-known IT research and consulting firm.

“The students are well-prepared, and they’re asking great questions,” said Carlson, who was a dual strategic communication and psychology major at HPU. “High Point University students are great because they offer examples of their experience and they do research on the companies. It’s important to put yourself out there, network and get to know individuals. That’s the best way to start your career.”

HPU’s career fairs stand out for Robin Bogatz, a senior talent acquisition specialist for Canon USA, who traveled from Boca Raton, Florida.

“This has become one that’s near and dear to my heart,” Bogatz said. “High Point University is unique and very outstanding. We see a higher caliber of students here. In addition to the high quality of education that they’re getting, they’re getting life skills. They have goals and ideas of where they see themselves. Some come with business cards and resumes. We’ve had success hiring interns.”

Those Canon internships last 10-12 weeks and integrate with several departments, including audit, legal, finance, sales and public relations, she said.

HPU’s career summit was described as well-done, well-organized and consistent by Paul DeProfio, Xerox vice president of sales for the Carolinas. He said networking with students was enjoyable. “They are very impressive and would be great for our internship in Texas,” he said.

“The students are very well prepared, which is why I enjoy coming to High Point. They are always professionally dressed, ask questions and make eye contact,” said Aliyah Crump, campus recruitment program manager for Varonis. She was recruiting for cybersecurity sales in North Carolina, New York and Arizona.

As a first-time participant, PNC Bank drew attention from students with its offer of a $10,000 scholarship they can apply for. Jade Isola, a Class of 2024 business alumna who earned an MBA at HPU in 2025, returned to campus as a PNC branch banker.

HPU Alumni Provide Mentorship

Alumni from across the country also returned to campus to hold mentorship sessions with students at the career summit.

Chris Crawford, a Class of 2014 alumnus who majored in communication, spoke with students about his work in the Atlanta, Georgia, area as assistant program director of 95.5 WSB, one of the country’s largest news and talk radio stations. He gained experience as a student by working at the campus radio station.

Alexa Ondrush, a Class of 2022 alumna from Long Island, New York, shared her experience as a Disney talent connection coordinator and how another HPU graduate flagged her resume with a recruiter to allow her to rise above thousands of applicants. Although the music business was her background experience, her skills were transferable for her new role.

“Disney has been so welcoming, and they are huge in growth across the company,” Ondrush said. “When new shows or movies come out, they’ll do screenings in our movie theater in the office. It’s fun to work there.”

She advised students to “say yes to everything.”

“That’s what I did. I was applying to everything and anything that was offered to me that I found interesting,” Ondrush said. “What I did in my first internship brought me to the second one. Honestly, people know people. I worked so hard on my internship for that reason. I looked at it as one step that led to the next. At the end of the day, it ends up being worth it.”