Students were invited to connect with healthcare professionals on Nov. 9 in the Michel Student Center Ballroom.
The Health Professions Career Fair, hosted by the Smith Career Center, gave students the chance to search for job opportunities with over 24 employers. The healthcare professionals who participated were from fields such as hospital work, social work, assisted living and outpatient care.
The fair, which has been hosted over the last 20 years, has slowly adapted to become more inclusive for healthcare majors outside of nursing and physical therapy, according to Jon Neidy, executive director of the Smith Career Center.
“Because healthcare is so specialized, it is important to offer a diverse career fair so those recruiters have the opportunity to recruit our amazing Bradley talent,” Neidy said.
Many students were pleased with the diverse range of networking options offered.
Returning recruiter from Heartland Health, Andi Flinn, stated that both care-giving and networking have been especially challenging during the pandemic.
Heartland Health has been working within the Peoria community to assist in COVID-19 testing and vaccinations.
“Heartland is dedicated to serving the community, especially the underprivileged and those in need of our assistance,” Flinn said. “Overall, it’s important to us that we recognize students’ hard work and difficulties during COVID. We love to work within our community to lift up hard working students.”
Another returning recruiter from the Allendale Association, James Walleck, agreed with Flinn’s analysis of the difficulties caused by COVID-19.
The Allendale Association, an inpatient and outpatient treatment organization, focuses primarily on children and teenagers, typically hosting residents for approximately a year. However, the pandemic has caused this to change.
“Many are afraid to come out in these times due to COVID, both those looking for job prospects and those looking for assistance and care,” Walleck said.
Despite difficulties in recruitment due to the pandemic, Walleck was optimistic that the Health Professions Career Fair would be a successful recruitment opportunity.
“Prospects brought in from Bradley reflect and represent the diversity of those in need of care,” Walleck said.“In times such as these, it’s important to share opportunities with all students as a private non-profit working hard to support diversity and inclusion — and Bradley offers just that: diversity.”
This article was updated on Nov. 18 at 7:30 pm.
