The UA Hispanic Alumni Club hosted the Multicultural Community and Career Expo at the Student Memorial Union’s North Ballroom on Thursday.

Along with career information and opportunities “”we also offer the mentorship as well as the internship. Unlike the career fair where it’s basically a career driven event, this offers those other elements to students,”” said Patsy Klein, a volunteer and mentor with the UA Hispanic Alumni Club and organizer of the 3-year-old expo.

“”Because of cultural backgrounds, there are some cultures where you tend to be modest about yourself. And you go to a career fair, there’s this competition going on with students, and you’re always presenting the best and what you’ve done. And there are some cultures . . . that the idea of going out and so called, ‘bragging’ is frowned upon. And so that sometimes makes it difficult in a regular, large career fair to have these students really be able to shine. So we do something that’s a little less formal. The same companies are here, same types of jobs. And a lot of the companies here are looking for diversity in their workspace. And so this is a new avenue for them,”” Klein said.

“”It’s an opportunity for the community, not only the campus community but the Tucson community, to come on campus to see what the university’s about and what we have to offer in the way of quality students. There’s a lot of valuable talent walking through these doors,”” said Bill Ruggirello, assistant director of UA Career Services.

“”It’s about bringing business and community together . . . because the businesses rely on this institution to produce career-minded people,”” said Humberto Stevens, president of the UA Hispanic Alumni Club.

Career-minded students are the kind of students Vikki Tellez, a store manger from Wells Fargo Financial, is looking for.

“”U of A has been very good to us on recruits so we get a lot of good, qualified people from here,”” she said. “”We’re looking for good candidates who come from all backgrounds””

Across the ballroom, the UA Army ROTC program had their booth set up as first-year participants.

“”It’s been pretty good; we got a couple hopeful cadets,”” said Matthew Castiglione, an Army cadet for the UA ROTC.

Another newcomer to the expo was the Pima County Sheriff’s Department. Karina Carrasco, a personnel specialist for the department said they are always hiring and coming to events like this are always enjoyable.

Christopher Vlahos, president and executive director of the UA Alumni Association, said, “”Many of the people behind the booths here are alumni. And it’s important for students to know that there are alumni and there are colleges and organizations that care about them and want them to succeed. And that’s really the value of an expo like this.””

As an alumni, “”you remember where you were at when you were looking and going through the different companies and seeing where you wanted to apply to. So you know where they’re coming from,”” said Amy Tran, a UA alumna who graduated in 2005 and is now an assistant branch manager for Wells Fargo Financial.

Chemistry junior Diana Pantoja said this may be one of the best ways bridge the gap between employee and prospective employer.

“”What better way to connect with somebody than (with an alum) who already knows what you’re going through. They can relate with you,”” Pantoja said.