Vaqueros Gear Up for the Career Game
Nataly Zuniga, Student Career Advisor for the UTRGV Career Center, presents an elevator pitch template for attendees at the workshop session “The Game Plan: VMock, Elevator Pitch,” Wednesday on the UTRGV Edinburg campus. Finch Cantu/Pulse
Finch Cantu | Pulse
Last week, the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Career Center hosted the second week of its spring 2025 Career and Internship Prep Month to help students take steps toward scoring a job or internship.
The events were football-themed and included workshops and information sessions, covering topics such as resume building, elevator pitches, the internship search and interview strategies.
One such event was “The Game Plan: VMock, Elevator Pitch” which took place Wednesday on UTRGV the Edinburg campus, led by Jerome Wiggins, the Career Center’s Career Advisor for the Robert C. Vackar College of Business & Entrepreneurship, and Nataly Zuniga, Student Career Advisor for the Career Center.
During this session, participants were introduced to the platform VMock and were guided on how to create a 30-second elevator pitch to introduce themselves and their goals to employers.
Sofia Flores, a business management senior, attended the workshop for help creating an elevator pitch.
“For one of my classes, we have to actually present an elevator pitch in front of the students. … And since it was a small group, I got that one-on-one guidance on how to improve my elevator pitch,” she said.
Flores had an internship during summer 2024 for the human resources department of the City of McAllen, and her goal is to score another internship, in an HR position within the area of business.
She said that another reason she chose to attend the session was to learn how to sell herself to employers.
“[At] the career fair for example, to make sure that I can get another internship because I feel like the internships are what lead to getting a job. They’re looking for that experience,” Flores added.
Career and Internship Prep Month started Feb. 10 and lasted until Wednesday.
John “Jack” Kaufold, program manager for the Career Center, explained that although the series of events is not a full month long, it is meant “to support students in their career development” in preparation for the “upcoming career & internship expo.”
Kaufold recommended students seeking jobs or internships to follow a “four phase process” to navigate the job and internship search:
- Determine career interests and the logical timeframe for when to begin applying.
- Search for opportunities and research employers of interest. This includes preparing materials such as resumes and cover letters.
- Apply for the desired position(s) and attend an interview.
- Follow up with recruiters afterward, thanking them for their time and reminding them of the skills the student can contribute.
Alyssa Aguilar, the lead Student Career Advisor for the UTRGV Career Center, said the center holds a prep week before each semester’s career expo.
The UTRGV Spring 2025 Career and Internship Expo will take place March 6 on the Brownsville campus and March 7 on the Edinburg campus. It is open to all students and will feature 76 employers seeking to hire students from UTRGV for internships or full-time positions.
Students can find more information and register for the expo on Handshake.
