Staff photo / R. Michael Semple Youngstown State University STEM student Jacob Smith, 25, of Canfield, left, asks questions of Mark Raketich, senior recruiter for Lindy Paving, during the university’s STEM expo on Thursday afternoon in Stambaugh Stadium.

YOUNGSTOWN — Freshman mechanical engineering student Joe Castma spent much of Thursday at Youngstown State University’s STEM expo talking to various companies about his goals — and trying to draw interest for an internship or a co-op assignment.

Castma, 21, described the expo as very important for getting students in front of businesses.

“Most employers today want students that have some hands-on experience working in their career choice,” Castma said. “This will help open some doors to future jobs.”

For Gerri Steigerwald, vice president for corporate development at Cleveland Punch & Die Co., attending YSU’s College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Expo has been an excellent way to introduce the company to future engineers now living in the Youngstown area.

“This is our second year coming to YSU’s STEM expo,” Steigerwald said. “We brought on an intern last year that we were very pleased with and hope to bring him back, so coming here was very successful. We like the quality of students we’ve seen here.”

A Ravenna-based company of about 500 employees, Steigerwald said the company came to YSU’s expo because it wanted to find potential interns in Trumbull and Mahoning counties.

Columbiana resident Taylor Adams, 23, described the job fair as a way to learn about what kind of jobs may be available in the area.

Adams, a chemical engineering student, is also interested in getting an internship or a co-op opportunity.

“This is a good opportunity to get in the door,” she said.

Hayden Kaschak, 18, a Youngstown resident and freshman student at the university, said the job fair was different from what he expected.

“I was very nervous,” he said. “There are a lot of companies, and I wanted to make a good impression. As I got into the flow of talking to recruiters about my experiences, it became much more comfortable.”

Wim Steelant, dean of YSU’s Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics program, said this year’s expo attracted about 100 companies, and it had about 1,000 current and former YSU STEM students signed up to participate.

“This is our largest,” Steelant said. “This used to be part of the university’s job fair, and then we worked with the business department’s job fair, but a few years ago they suggested we have one that focused on students studying in STEM programs.”

Steelant said they have companies that came as far as the District of Columbia to interview potential interns.

“They come here because YSU had the first and only STEM college in Ohio,” he said. “The STEM college encourages students to think and work in an interdisciplinary fashion.”

Steelant said once students get internships or co-ops, they have a nearly 100 percent job placement rate.

“It is the quality of our students,” he said.

Steelant said the STEM college is in the early phase of discussions with Eastern Gateway Community College about working together on future job expos.

“Although they are a two-year community college, we believe it is important to begin working together,” he said. “What we are doing is about the students and about workforce development.”

Steelant said the discussions have been recent, so details still must be worked out.

“Eastern Gateway is only two blocks from our campus, so it only make sense for us to work together,” he said. “Our goal is the success of the students and developing the area’s future workforce.”

rsmith@tribtoday.com