Sidra Miller (left) of Boeing, talks with UMSL student Genevieve Holtz during the UMSL’s Information Systems Career Conference. (Photo by August Jennewein)

Kerrine Nelson was focused when she walked into the Summit Lounge in the J.C. Penney Building at the University of Missouri–St. Louis.

Nelson, a junior information systems major, attended the Information Systems Career Conference to gain experience and interact with companies.

“I thought this would be a great opportunity to network within the industry, see what is available and make connections,” she said. “Knowing what companies are looking for before I enter the work force is an amazing advantage.”

UMSL students Samyukta Varre (left) and Gayathri Reddy talk with a recruiter from Panera Bread during the UMSL’s Information Systems Career Conference. (Photo by August Jennewein)

More than 100 UMSL students took part in the daylong conference on April 23, which included workshops on cyber security, business intelligence, mobile applications and cloud computing. Twelve area businesses were on hand to meet with students, talk about their organizations and offer industry tips.

Dinesh Mirchandani, professor and chair of the Department of  Information Systems at UMSL, organized the conference.

“We have been preparing our students over the semester for this job fair through interview and resume writing panels as well as mock interview sessions organized by the department’s IS Mentoring Club,” Mirchandani said. “We are excited to present our talented students to these companies to provide their organizations fresh ideas, energy and diversity.”

Crystal Martin, community education coordinator at LaunchCode, said the career conference is a great chance to expose students to area companies.

“This opportunity helps show them what is available and familiarize them with area companies and what they have to offer,” Martin said.

Other companies in attendance included Boeing, Cultivation Capital, Edward Jones, Emerson, Express Scripts, Maritz, Mercy, MasterCard, Panera Bread, TDK Technologies and Unisys.