Smith School hosts 1st annual Employer Evening of Appreciation

At the Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland, the relationship between recruiters and the Smith School is an essential one – an idea emphasized at the school’s 1st annual Employer Evening of Appreciation on Monday, Dec. 14, 2009 in Van Munching Hall.

At this event hosted by the Office of Career Services, Dean G. “Anand” Anandalingam, Associate Dean of External Strategy Gerald Suarez and a few Smith School students thanked the many employers in attendance for their contributions to the Smith School.

These employers came from the IRS, United Bank, the U.S. Postal Service, Northrop Grumman, Constellation Energy, Morgan Stanley, Fannie Mae, Black and Decker, the Department of Homeland Security, and more companies. They have hired many Smith students and have been involved with many recruiting programs at the Smith School on both undergraduate and graduate levels.

Faculty members were also thanked for their involvement with these employers. In total, about 75 people attended this event.

To kick off the speakers, Abby Widom, a senior at the university and the president of the Smith Undergraduate Association, thanked the employers on behalf of the Smith student body.

“Undergraduate students work really hard,” Widom said. “We are so thankful that you all come here and recruit. … Thanks for allowing us to contribute to your companies.”

After Widom thanked the recruiters, she handed the presentations off to Suarez, who acknowledged immediately that this get together was a simple thing, yet truly important for forging relationships between the Smith School, faculty, students and employers.

“We are here to reflect on a mission: We need to continue to collaborate,” Suarez said to the employers. “Students here know that if they put themselves through the rigor of our academic program, they’ll be able to land a good job.”

Suarez informed employers that the Smith School was top in the nation for recruiting and acknowledged that the relationship between the Smith School, its students and employers is especially important during the tough economic times.

“We have synergistic goals. … When things were tough, we came together as a community,” Suarez said. “You understood that you still wanted to work with our students. … [Smith School students] calibrated their expectations. And, we continued to work together.”

Up next in the line-up of speakers for the Employer Evening of Appreciation was the president of the MBAA, Wells Person.

“We really appreciate you coming on campus, being involved in our clubs, and participating in our mock interviews,” Person said before he continued to introduce the dean.

Dean Anand, like the other speakers, immediately expressed his thanks to all of the people in attendance at the Monday-night event.

“What we really want is for you to be happy with the students you recruit,” Dean Anand said. “We really believe our students are great. … We want them not only to get jobs, but to become leaders in your companies.”

He continued, “We want not only you to come to our school, but your friends as well. … Take away the message that you will get good students from the Smith School.”

The event continued until 9 p.m., presenting those in attendance with the opportunity to thank and be thanked for their participation in Smith School recruiting, and to network with other people at the event.

Jessica Bauer, Intern, Office of Marketing Communications