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The Best Swag From Penn State’s 2021 Fall Career Days

Most folks attending Penn State’s Fall Career Days this week are looking for internships, full-time gigs, and the opportunity of a lifetime. But no matter what you’re interested in, everyone is looking for free swag.

Dressed in professional attire, I put on my big girl pants and hiked over to the Bryce Jordan Center for the in-person career event. Despite the initial awkwardness of explaining I am not looking for a full-time gig just yet, companies were still more than happy to talk to me about what they do, discuss type of candidates they’re looking for, and, most importantly, hand over their swag.

Here’s the best free stuff we found Tuesday:

Aramark: Reusable Water Cup

Aramark provides safety, food, facilities, and uniforms across 19 countries, and it was advertising both undergraduate and full-time positions. I love a good covered cup. It keeps my iced coffee safe and secure as I frantically stuff it in my backpack pocket and run to class. It even included a straw so I can sip hands-free while furiously taking notes at my desk.

Atkinson: Hard Hat Flashlight Keychain

As one may infer from the hard hat, Atkinson is a construction company providing heavy civil infrastructure, especially underground construction and tunneling, and offered both internship, co-op, and full-time positions. Drop something under a small, dark space? No worries. Thanks to Atkinson, you can use your flashlight keychain hard hat to find it.

Enterprise Holdings: Koozie

Although I wouldn’t recommend using Enterprise Rent-A-Car services at the same time you’re using this koozie, you gotta admit that this is pretty cool. Enterprise was offering an interesting full-time management training program along with internship positions, but the only role I was thinking about was just how sweet I’d look rocking one of these bad boys at the next football tailgate.

Montgomery County Public Schools: Star Stress Ball

Montgomery County Public Schools is located outside of Washington, D.C., and is actively hiring for teaching positions and support personnel. The unique star shape is what really caught my eye. I know during my next 2 a.m. study session for my upcoming midterm, I’ll be frantically squeezing this guy while reminding myself (or at least attempting to convince myself) that I also have the potential to be a star student.

Glendale Elementary Schools: Earbuds

Glendale Elementary Schools is a kindergarten through eighth-grade public school district in Glendale, Arizona, that’s hiring teachers. With the heat waves in Arizona, I can imagine popping these earbuds in and turning on my favorite Spotify playlist while relaxing by the pool. In all honesty, these earbuds were a necessity for me. Before this career fair, I didn’t have a pair of headphones I could plug into my laptop. Thanks, Glendale!

Brunner: Pen

Operating in my hometown of Pittsburgh, Brunner is a full-service marketing agency hiring high-level positions as well as offering summer internships. Depending on client needs, there could be entry-level positions available as well. But while I was trying to slip the group a resume, a noticed a true treasure: this pen.

Now, this is no ordinary pen. My partner in this investigation, Mark Vighetti, tested 23 different pens and said, “After a grueling nine minutes of pen testing and research, I have ordered all 23 pens and determined the top elite five pens. I ranked pens based on three categories: writability, comfort, and style/drippage.” Brunner’s pen tied for first place among four other pens, but I personally rated Brunner above the tied four due to the fancy box Brunner’s was presented in.

Marine Corps: Lanyard and Carabiner

The Marine Corps was recruiting first-year through junior full-time college students for its summer program, along with recruiting graduates for their OCC program. Their motto is “The Few. The Proud.”, which makes sense because very few people know the value of a quality lanyard/carabiner combo, and those who do should be proud.

Kreider Farms: Cow Stress Ball

Before I say anything, can we all take a moment to appreciate how cute this guy is? Located in Lancaster, Kreider Farms is a top 10 agriculture producer in the country and the biggest in the state. They were hiring for a full-time, 365 days a year entry-level manager position. Cows don’t milk themselves, people. I know I already have a stress ball listed here already, but this cow is adorable and deserves its own spot in this post. Or maybe I’m just really stressed. Thanks, midterms.

Keysight Technologies: Flash Drive

Keysight Technologies is the world’s largest test and measurement equipment manufacturer with both internships and full-time positions available. I got the information from…*wait for it*…the flash drive itself upon plugging it into my laptop. That is innovation at its finest. Besides all of the obviously useful benefits of a flash drive, imagine walking up to a booth at the career fair and handing a recruiter a flash drive with your resume on it, maybe with your initials engraved on there or something. Power move.

Martin Marietta: Mug

Martin Marietta is an American-based supplier of aggregates, cement, ready-mixed concrete, and asphalt. Located across 26 states, Nova Scotia, and the Bahamas, Martin Marietta was recruiting interns and full-time employees. The group gave me this mug, which I appreciate because it’s very large. This bad boy could hold the largest liquid setting from my Keurig plus creamer and still have extra room in it. Perfect for some cozy fall vibes.

Great Wolf Lodge: A Whole Bag O’ Swag

Ah, childhood memories of getting a multi-gallon bucket of water dumped on me after my mom told me to “pose for a picture” and zooming down water slides. Heaven. Great Wolf Lodge, North America’s largest indoor water park, was hiring for its full-time, two-year management development program, and it gifted me with hands-down the most comprehensive assortment of items.

I got some crazy sunglasses that make me feel like I’m a bug, a stick-on phone wallet, a plastic cup, a child-sized wolf ears headband (which I’m sure drunk tailgaters could mistake for lion ears at the next football game), a canvas bag, and a two-pack of reusable metal straws in both pink and black with a straw cleaner brush. I really didn’t need any additional convincing to return to Great Wolf Lodge, but after this, I’m sold.

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About the Author

Sydney Burns

Sydney is a sophomore majoring in English and comparative literature and is one of Onward State's contributors. She is always reading and will spend too long trying to explain her current read to you. On campus, she the passionate president of the Comparative Literature club and a member of Triota. For more literary musings, follow her on Twitter @sydneyymburns or email her at [email protected].

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