College Hosts Second Annual Public Administration Career Fair

By Angie Lewis

On Nov. 4, 2003, the College of Health and Public Affairs and Kimberly Hughes, president of the Organization for Public Administration at the University of Central Florida, hosted a career fair for undergraduate and graduate students in public administration, criminal justice, health professions and social work programs.

This year's event included representatives from 25 local and state organizations, a number which is up from 20 last year, Hughes said.

Orrie Solomon, a 21-year-old graduate student, said this career fair provides better opportunities than other UCF career fairs because it's targeted toward a specific audience. "It's great, because I get to network with a diverse group of companies and people who are all involved in some aspect of public administration," she said.

Some of the organizations and agencies in attendance included the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, NASA, the U.S. Department of Defense and the State of Florida Governor's Office.

"Florida State [University] is in Tallahassee, so we're trying to create a relationship with the governor's office to let them know UCF has public administration students too," Hughes said.

The Department of Public Administration offers a bachelor's and master's degree in public administration, as well as several undergraduate and graduate certificate programs.

2003 Participating Agencies and Organizations

American Society for Public Administration
Department of Public Administration
Brevard County Human Resources
Brevard County Sheriff's Office
City of Cocoa Economic Development
City of Melbourne
City of Orlando Human Resources
Florida Association of Public Purchasing Officers
Florida Department of Transportation Personnel Department
Florida Department of Law Enforcement
Florida City and County Management Association
NASA/Kennedy Space Center
Orange County Human Resources
Osceola County Human Resources
Space Coast Gateway Support, LLC
St. John's River Water Management District
State of Florida Governor's Office
U.S. Department of Defense
U.S. Investigative Service
U.S. Government Department of Homeland Security/Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement
U.S. Government Department of Homeland Security/Transportation and Safety Administration
UCF Graduate Studies
UCF Human Resources
United Way - Heart of Florida