Moss Department of Construction Management welcomed more than 40 companies, nearly 200 students at its Fall 2021 Career Expo

The Moss Department of Construction Management hosted its Fall 2021 Career Expo in person Oct. 18 at the FIU ballrooms. The networking event was open to FIU engineering students and alumni. More than 40 companies and nearly 200 students were in attendance.

“After holding the last couple of career expos virtually, it was great to have these industry leaders come in and interact with our students and alumni face-to-face,” said Jose Faria, chair of the Moss Department of Construction Management. “It gave our students and alumni an opportunity to network and see what job opportunities are out there for them.”

Among the 42 companies who attended were Moss & Associates, Lennar, Robins & Morton, Skanska USA Building, Inc., Turner Construction, Trimble, DPR Construction, Kaufman Lynn Construction, Balfour Beatty, Link Construction Group, Brasfield & Gorrie, LLC., Miller Electric Company and Housing Trust Group (HTG).

FIU alumni were not only present as participants looking for a job – but they were also on the other side of the table as employers looking to hire fellow Panthers.

Eduardo Ardavin ’12, vice president of construction for Housing Trust Group (HTG), returned to FIU for the career expo to introduce HTG to the future of the industry and meet many new potential teammates.

“We would love to help foster and grow the foundations laid by all the staff at FIU while helping further the education and careers of the potential candidates from FIU. We recognize that their growth within HTG is essential to our growth as a company,” Ardavin says. “Some of the best and brightest construction minds I’ve met in my career have come from FIU’s Construction Management program and I have no doubt that the future is very bright for many of the students that came out to the career expo.”

HTG is an award-winning, full-service developer of multifamily residential communities with more than 40 years of experience in Florida and throughout the Southeastern United States and Arizona.

FIU construction management students and alumni have found great success with the department’s career expos in acquiring internships and job opportunities.

Elisa Lopez ’19 now works for Brasfield & Gorrie, LLC. as an assistant project manager. She attributes her success in finding internships and job opportunities to the construction management career expos.

“The career expos gave me the opportunity to connect with employers. I received two internships and a full-time job from the career expo. The internships allowed me to apply what I learned in the classroom and put a face to it. The value is indescribable. Also, it helped me learn how to market myself,” Lopez says.

Oscar Morejon ’13, president of John Bell Construction, obtained a valuable internship with Suffolk Construction through the department’s career expo.

“I was a part of the greatest team I have ever worked with. The team taught me so much, mentored me, and ultimately became my family. The lessons I learned with this team are still the way I run the projects of my own company,” Morejon. says

 The Moss Department of Construction Management will be hosting its next career expo Feb. 22.