{"id":224435,"date":"2025-10-28T10:25:56","date_gmt":"2025-10-28T20:25:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=224435"},"modified":"2025-10-28T10:27:32","modified_gmt":"2025-10-28T20:27:32","slug":"uh-manoa-internship-fair","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2025\/10\/28\/uh-manoa-internship-fair\/","title":{"rendered":"Internship fair jumpstarts UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa students\u2019 career success"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

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The University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at M\u0101noa is helping students turn education into employment through hands-on career connections. On October 22, the M\u0101noa Career Center\u2019s fall internship fair transformed the second floor of the Campus Center into a bustling hub of opportunity as students networked with 12 employers—with a strong record of hiring UH<\/abbr> graduates—offering paid internships.<\/p>\n

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“We want students to feel confident about their options,” said M\u0101noa Career Center Director Wendy Sora, who emphasized the importance of linking students with a robust network of industry partners in both public and private sectors.<\/p>\n

That approach resonated with students such as senior computer science major Devin Etscheit, who gained valuable insight into standing out in a competitive job market. He appreciated advice to quantify his projects when applying for positions, highlighting outcomes and teamwork.<\/p>\n

“Especially as someone with no experience, if you are trying to get an internship, you want to gear your projects towards specific companies,” Etscheit said.<\/p>\n

Build connections early<\/h2>\n

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Employers at the fair shared the same vision—help students prepare for high-quality, well-paying careers. Tradewind Group Talent Acquisition Specialist Alec Kimura stressed the importance of building connections early.<\/p>\n

“Especially being here in Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>, it’s so important to make these connections early on, even if it doesn’t result in an immediate job or an immediate internship,” Kimura said. “If you can at least talk to people, make these connections, start these conversations with people, who knows—a year, five, 10 years down the line, it could pay dividends.”<\/p>\n

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Kimura added that the technical skills will come with time.<\/p>\n

“But teaching somebody how to be coachable, how to show up with a good attitude, how to be calm is very difficult,” he said.<\/p>\n

Internship fairs are part of UH<\/abbr>\u2019s larger Workforce Development initiatives, a core pillar of the UH<\/abbr> System\u2019s Â鶹´«Ã½<\/a> to prepare students for Â鶹´«Ã½\u2019s<\/span> most in-demand, good-paying jobs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Students gain career connections through dynamic UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa internship event.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[9,603],"class_list":["post-224435","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","tag-uh-manoa","tag-workforce-development","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t