Courtesy of GSU Communications
Nearly 600 Grambling State University students started building on their futures Oct. 9 as they participated in the Fall 2025 Lonnie B. Smith Career Fair inside the Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center.
There 598 students received the opportunity to meet and network with recruiters from more than 62 potential employers and postgraduate programs from across the country as well as take professional headshots to add to their résumés and a Clifton Strengths assessment booth.
The Career Fair also featured three separate Candid Conversations programs where university alumni and professionals discuss careers and opportunities. These events are designed to provide students with more in-depth, informal discussions about career paths, personal development, and aligning with purpose — things beyond what is typically covered at a traditional job fair.
“It was amazing,” said Antoinette Livingston, GSU Director of the Center for Career and Professional Development. “I’m so proud of how our students presented themselves and the level of preparedness they showed. Employers were impressed with their résumés, professionalism, and confidence throughout the day. That kind of feedback reinforces the work our office does every day—helping students build the skills, gain the experiences, and make the connections they need to succeed beyond graduation. Seeing them prepared and ready for what’s next is the most rewarding part of what we do.”
Topics for the Fall 2025 Candid Conversations were “Experiential Learning”; Lights, Camera, And Real Action: An Inside Look Into The Entertainment Business,”; and “Beyond The Paycheck: Investing In Your Well-Being For Long-Term Success.”
GSU College of Business Dean Dr. Derrick Warren moderated “Experiential Learning” conversation talking about the importance of internships and hand–on learning with a panel made of IT infrastructure analyst Jarrid Richards from Cleco; Justin Harris, Branch Manager for Cintas in Dallas/Fort Worth; Larry Wright, Director of Operations for Procter & Gamble in Pineville, Louisiana; and Grambling State junior cybersecurity and computer science major Ugochukwa Igweagu, who interned for Cisco last summer.
Richards said a key point for college students trying to impress potential employees is to be coachable.
“We expect you to make mistakes, especially during internships and different rotational programs, but just make sure to be coachable,” Richards said. “Sometimes these things start off slow in internship potential, where an employer is trying to figure out where to fit you in different parts of the business that you’re probably not ready for, but be coachable.
“Have the desire to learn. Sit down next to a coworker of yours and see what you can learn from them. Identify what people are good at and try to leverage your skills to where you can get taught by the best.”
Jess’Lyn Sanders, Miss Grambling State University 2024-25, moderated the “Lights, Camera, Action” conversation that featured a panel made up of GSU Senior Associate Athletic Director Ryanne Logan; Dr. Aaron Livingston from GSU’s Sports Administration graduate program; Kristena Hatcher, founder and CEO of North Star Focus, a diverse, woman-led talent consulting firm; and De’Vante Martin, a GSU Mass Communications graduate and reporter for KNOE television in Monroe, Louisiana.
Logan said that while hard skills specific to a given profession are crucial to any job, soft skills also play a critical role.
“Teamwork and collaboration — you need that in any industry,” Logan said. “In the sports industry, it’s not only about the team on the field and also the team behind the field — the people working behind the scenes to make it all happen.”
“Another soft skill that’s key when you’re working in the sports field is adaptability. A few years ago, we had the COVID pandemic. We were trying to navigate COVID and keep people clean and healthy. Talk about learning on the fly and adapting — that was a prime example of that. So, always focus on teamwork and collaboration and be able to adapt to change.”
The final Candid Conversation, “Beyond The Paycheck:” was moderated by GSU Office of Career Studies and Professional Development Daphne Tolliver and featured panelists Dr. Gretchen Pettaway of Mid-City Pediatrics in Shreveport, Louisiana; Corey Williams, a Talent Sourcing Partner at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana; Dr. Carolyn Jackson, an associate professor in GSU’s Department of Developmental and Higher Education Studies; and Benita Izuora, GSU’s current Miss Sophomore.
Talking about preventing job burnout was a primary focus during that discussion.
“You have to prioritize yourself and your health — you’ve got to do that first,” Jackson said. “You have to set boundaries for yourself first, because that day is coming where something is going to happen and you’re going to feel overwhelmed, and there’s no way to prevent it.
“But, if you have some tools that you practice while you are in (undergraduate school) or while you are new on a job. When it’s time to rest, make sure you’re resting. Put that phone down and go to sleep. That will help you enter a stressful situation with as clear a mind as you can have.”
Jackson said priority alignment is the key to finding the proper work/life balance.
“When it’s time to work, I work, and when it’s time for family, it’s family time,” Jackson said. “And when it is time for me, myself and I, it is that time. And sometimes you’ve got to be strict with those boundaries. Family trumps job and faith trumps family.”
In early 2024, Chris Compton Jr., a 2005 Engineering Technology graduate from Grambling State who is now Procurement Director for Turner Construction, returned to his alma mater to present six scholarships from his corporation along with a promise that his corporation would be making more hires from GSU, which at that time only consisted of Compton and Torrence Banks, who had just started working for Turner at that point.
On Thursday, Banks joined recent Grambling State graduates Collin Dean, originally from Los Angeles now working in San Francisco, and Khaaliq Stevenson, originally from Denver now working in Memphis, as Career Fair recruiters for Turner Construction.
“It feels so good to be able to come back and do this,” Stevenson said. “Torrance and I were actually having a conversation yesterday about how we were in those seats just a little over a year ago. So just being able to see that we were just in those seats and now we’re on the other side talking to those students in those seats now and being a part of the cycle continuing is a beautiful thing, because when Chris came and got us, he said they were going to come back with more Grambling alumni next time. And sure enough, here we are.”
Antoinette Livingston said that GSU Career Clothes Closet has a new look and continues accepting donations of gently-used business attire to help GSU students in need as they search for jobs.
