Career Expo Brings Students, Alumni, and Employers Full Circle

MTC Student Advisory Board President Kezia Gibson at the career expo.

On March 21, MTC held the 2024 Engineering Technologies Career Expo at the Northeast Campus. The event, open to current students and alumni, featured representatives from 22 companies, half of which were currently hiring for entry level positions in fields such as engineering technologies, advanced manufacturing, and skilled trades. 

Local employers met with participants one-on-one, conducted practice interviews, and seven of the employers participated in a panel discussion offering career insights. 

Calvin Abercrombie, one of the panelists, is an MTC Civil Engineering Technology alumnus who found his position at Mashburn Construction through the department’s career expo in 2022. 

Abercrombie, reflecting on his career fair experience as a student, said, “Of course it was very nerve racking, your first career fair, thinking, ‘OK, these people are trying to hire me, and how am I going to represent myself’? But the classes that you take before the career fair and what the professors go through actually prepare you for it really well.” 

He added, “Midlands Tech has given me a lot. They’ve helped my career, and they’ve pushed me from where I was to where I am now. And I feel like I owe this school, because this school has done so much for me.”

Charles (Chuck) Thrift, a former MTC Ambassador and December 2023 Architectural Engineering Technology graduate, was another alumnus in attendance. Thrift currently is employed at Jumper Carter Sease, an architectural firm in downtown Columbia.

“It’s interesting because I actually got that job through becoming an Ambassador for MTC,” said Thrift. “Todd Sease, one of the principals at Jumper Carter Sease, saw a presentation that I gave as an Ambassador, and contacted me afterwards, and I’ve been working there ever since.”

Thrift plans on going to Dunwoody College to finish his bachelor’s degree and become a licensed architect.

Thrift said, “At MTC, they say ‘you can get anywhere from here,’ which I think is probably really corny sounding, but, it’s actually true. … And the reason I came back today was because I’m very proud of the time that I spent here, and it’s just helped in ways that I probably couldn’t even articulate.”

Panelists at the expo included Calvin Abercrombie with Mashburn Construction, Tom Canarella and Eric Case with CES Group, Peter Cribbs with Allied Air, Chad Easter with Highfill, Bryan Jones with Civil Engineering Consulting Services, and Daniel Winders with Johnson Controls. Other companies participating included Allied Air, Bierer Meters, BLE Corporation, Civil Engineering of Columbia, CPH, Foth, GMK, McKenzie Architecture, Massey Engineering, Millenium, Mungo Homes, Nucor, Phase One Design, RDA Studio, Saluda Mallard, SCDOT, and Walker White Construction.

About the School of STEM

In MTC's School of Science, Information Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM), you can prepare for careers in information technology and computers, engineering technology, mathematics, and natural sciences. Within this school, you'll find transferable associate degrees, STEM programs to train you for great careers in two years or less, and individual training courses.