Many college students have a career stuck in a cubicle to look forward to. Ohio State’s first ever Environmental Career Expo offers a chance for students to escape the impending monotony of office work.

Although only 16 organizations and agencies are expected to be a part of the expo, “the businesses attending the career fair represent a niche-market,” said Adam Cahill, career development coordinator for the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences.

“Within many of the agencies, people with various majors are needed,” Cahill said. The career fair is open for any students of any rank.

Some familiar organizations attending the expo are “the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and the Natural Resources Conservation Service,” Cahill said.

The Ohio EPA is looking for 70 summer interns, 60 of which will be employed in the surface water division. The EPA also seeks interns from Hawking College, said Holly Tucker, an Ohio EPA Environment Specialist 2.

“OSU students typically have strong environmental backgrounds,” Tucker said. “We specifically search for applicants with an interest in entomology, engineering for our storm water sector, botany, chemistry, or biology.”

“We like to get OSU students, because our ecological assessment program goes into October,” Tucker said. “Since OSU begins later, the timing works out well.”

The ecological assessment program is a leading environmental program in the nation. Tucker thinks interns who take advantage of the opportunity will go on to have excellent jobs, perhaps with the EPA.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service hopes to find several students who are about a year from graduation, who have knowledge and education in water chemistry, pollution ecology, terrestrial ecology and eco-toxicology.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will place accepted students in the Student Career Experience Program. The students are hired on a temporary basis, which “allows us to bring them on board, so students can see if federal employment is for them,” said Mary Knapp, U.S. Fish and Wildlife service field supervisor.

Upon completion of the program the students may be offered full-time positions.

Unlike the Ohio EPA, the service travels to all universities in Ohio seeking interns.

Both the EPA and the service recommend preparing a resume with relevant courses and work experience. In addition, Knapp wants to hear concise details about senior projects or masters’ theses.

“Keep in mind, I can tell how you write by looking at your resume,” Knapp said. “If it’s full of misspellings, I’ll never get passed the first page.”

Interested students can go to the auditorium on the corner of Woody Hayes Avenue and Fyffe Road. There is a surface lot available for students who wish to drive.

No pre-registration is needed. Students are welcomed between 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Jan. 27 in the Agricultural Administration auditorium.