YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Compco is looking for interns for its human resources and marketing departments, and company representatives attended Youngstown State University’s Meet the Employers Day hoping to find them.

The Wednesday event was for students in YSU’s Williamson College of Business Administration.

“Compo is a huge supporter of Youngstown State,” said Meribeth Noble, the company’s vice president of human resources, who attended the event with Thomas Varley, director of HR at Compco. “A lot of our employees are actually graduates of YSU – both of us, as well, so we’ve supported this event for many, many years. We have pulled a ton of interns from here.”

The university prepares students well for the workforce, she said. Compco has hired YSU interns to work in engineering and safety as well.

Lenea Guerrero, a junior finance major, and Eva Sunjevaric, a junior human resources management major, were among the YSU Williamson College of Business Administration students who attended Wednesday’s Meet the Employers Day.

Lenea Guerrero of Covina, Calif., a junior finance major, was looking for information about what the job of a finance professional entails day to day. Eva Sunjevaric of Cleveland, a junior human resources management major, attended mainly to network.

“Some of these companies are closer to home, like Sherwin Williams, for example, so see if they have any internships available, or just talk to them,” she said of her plans.

Ethan Rogers of Hermitage, Pa., a senior, is interested in a career in sales and marketing, and sophomore Parker Namie of Berlin Center is hoping for an internship. Both are business administration majors.

Ethan Rogers of Hermitage, Pa., and Parker Namie of Berlin Center, both business administration majors, attended the Meet the Employers Day event Wednesday.

Rogers attended the event last year and noted that some of the employers he met then were back this year.

“We’ve only been here for maybe 15 minutes so far, and there’s so many people to talk to in sales and marketing, it’s a little overwhelming,” he said. “But that’s a good thing.”

Michelle Herron, manager of recruiting and training at 717 Credit Union, said the company attended the event looking for interns in the fraud and auditing departments.

The credit union has found success in hiring interns from YSU who have later been hired by the company, she said.

Scott King, district manager at Fastenal, met Harrison Walkama at the YSU Meet the Employers Day several years ago. Walkama, an account specialist, started as an intern at the company, which later hired him.

The two returned Wednesday morning, hoping to find interns.

Harrison Walkama, account specialist at Fastenal, and Scott King, district manager, were hoping to find interns at Wednesday’s event.

“The people we’re looking a lot for are folks in the world of business or even the supply chain or operations kind of interest,” King said. “We’ve been partnering with YSU for probably 15 years now.”

The company promotes exclusively from within, so it’s always looking for the next wave of talent, he added. King started as an intern at Fastenal, liked the company and stayed.

“And we try to find folks that are interested in this world of running a business and the supply chain management facet,” the district manager said. 

YSU has been a good fit for the company, which has locations in Warren, Youngstown, Salem and Sharon, Pa. King said Fastenal also attends the event to educate people about the company and the careers available there.

That’s worked out for Walkama too.

“I started [as an intern] when I was a junior,” he said. “Then I worked there part time for three semesters, and then I graduated in December and I started full time Jan. 1.” 

Pictured at top: Meribeth Noble and Thomas Varley, vice president and director of human resources, respectively, at Compco.