TIFTON, Ga. — As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, students at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College will try an alternative to the traditional in-person job fairs in the first virtual ABAC Career Connections event. The virtual event launches Feb. 23 and continues through March 9. 

The virtual event will offer live sessions with employers, post presentations for students to view, and allow students to schedule meetings with employers. Over 250 companies, agencies, and organizations have been invited to attend the virtual event, giving the event a global reach. 

Some participants include Kubota, Perdue, University of Georgia Graduate School, Farm Credit of Florida, WALB-TV, and Phoebe Health System. Other participants are Lasseter Equipment Company, PB2Foods, Geico, and South Georgia Medical Center. 

Darby Sewell, ABAC assistant vice president for academic affairs, engagement, learning resources, and compliance, recognizes the importance of building connections despite challenges.

“The continuing concern of the COVID-19 pandemic prevents the college from hosting an in-person career event on campus this year,” Sewell said. “Despite the challenges of the pandemic, it is important that we continue fostering connections between ABAC students and our industry and agency partners.” 

The goal of the Career Connections event is to provide ABAC students with all the resources possible so they can prepare for life after their college careers come to an end.

To join the event, ABAC students can pre-register by creating an account on symposium.foragerone.com using their ABAC email address. Once registered, students can sign up for the ABAC Career Connections event.

The event can be accessed any time between Feb. 23 and March 9 by visiting the site or by going to the ABAC Connect Website and viewing Career Connections. 

For more information on the event, interested persons can contact Student Engagement at studentengagement@abac.edu.