Recruiters recently participated in Newberry College’s 2025 Career Fair, connecting with students and building relationships.
Courtesy photo
NEWBERRY — For Newberry College junior Hunter McClary, a childhood summer camp experience came full circle during a campus career fair. After attending Camp Woodie each summer from the age of 8 until he was 18, McClary reconnected with the camp recruiter at Newberry College’s Spring 2025 Career Fair while looking for employers who offer conservation careers. The conversation with Camp Woodie led them to hire McClary as a camp counselor, transforming a meaningful childhood experience into a professional opportunity aligned with his future goals.
Stories like McClary’s highlight the power of connections between students and employers, interests and careers, and past experiences and long-term planning. At Newberry College, those connections are intentionally fostered through Career and Professional Development services, where students receive guidance and hands-on opportunities that help them build networking skills and navigate the transition from college to career with confidence.
“We help students with anything related to career exploration and finding jobs,” said Tracy Powers, director of Career and Professional Development, noting that students arrive at different stages of readiness. After Powers spoke with a class just ahead of the Spring 2025 Career Fair, McClary followed up with her to talk through his career interests. Encouraged to experience the fair and explore opportunities aligned with his long-term goals, McClary decided to attend, and the rest is history.
One of the Center’s largest events each semester is the Career Fair, which brings businesses and graduate, law, and medical school programs to campus to connect directly with Newberry students. Powers helps students prepare by helping them with résuméwriting skills and advising them on how to introduce themselves and dress professionally so they can present themselves confidently and make strong first impressions with employers.
At the Career Fair, McClary was thrilled to see the booth for Camp Woodie, a residential summer camp in Pinewood, S.C., operated by the South Carolina Waterfowl Association (SCWA). Founded in 1995, Camp Woodie introduces children ages 7–16 to the outdoors through conservation education, hunting and boating safety, and hands-on learning experiences. The camp hosts nine week-long sessions each summer and served 1,475 campers last year.
“We’re focused on helping young people develop respect and excitement for conservation and the outdoors,” said Chandler James, Marketing Director for the South Carolina Waterfowl Association. “Those early experiences often shape a sense of shared responsibility for our natural resources that carries into adulthood and helps perpetuate our outdoor heritage.”
For McClary, a criminal justice major from Florence, S.C., that future came into focus early. An avid hunter and fisherman, he said his experiences at Camp Woodie helped instill confidence and inspired his goal of becoming a game warden.
“During hunter education courses, game wardens would come talk to us,” McClary said. “I realized I could teach and enjoy what I love at the same time.”
McClary credits the Center for Career and Professional Development with helping him connect his interests to real-world opportunities and encourages students to take advantage of events like the Career Fair.
The next Newberry College Career & Internship Fair will be held Wednesday, March 18, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Employers interested in connecting with Newberry’s talented Wolves and building meaningful recruiting relationships can register at https:///bit.ly/47NBQSx or contact Tracy Powers, director of Career and Professional Development, at [email protected].