On Mar. 19, 2026, Culver-Stockton hosted its annual Tri-State Career Fair. The Tri-State Career Fair allows students to network and converse with representatives of several different companies in Missouri, Illinois, and Iowa. 

Melissa Dubuque, Director of Career and Internship Services at Culver-Stockton College, spoke prior to the event about the importance of the career fair to students. “It’s really great practice,” Dubuque stated, “…meeting people you don’t necessarily know, presenting yourself professionally, and knowing what the important things to tell people what you’re looking for in your career.” She also talked about some new participants that attended this year’s career fair. “One, the Kansas City Alumni Association is coming, and they’re going to be talking about businesses in Kansas City and different careers that are available in that area.” Dubuque also mentioned the Tri-State Development would also be present at the career fair this year. Their purpose being to inform students on various career opportunities that may or may not have been presented at the fair.

Senior business major Hayden Pugh, spoke about the number of opportunities the career fair offered and the wide variety of different businesses to speak with. With Pugh being a Kansas City native, he also acknowledged the presence of the new Kansas City business vendors. He talked about how having Kansas City companies opens up a lot more opportunities and how connecting with Culver-Stockton alumni in that area could really help get his foot in the door. 

Senior criminal justice major Rylee Nolan discussed how she prepared herself to talk to potential employers at the career fair, and she offered some key insight. “My professor and my advisor told us that there’s probably going to be multiple law enforcement agencies here,” Nolan said, “being able to come up with ideas, knowing what I want to do when I graduate, talking to them about that and seeing what their perspective is, and seeing what they do as a law enforcement agency and sort of comparing all of that.” 

One of the representatives, Charles Schultz, from State Farm in Quincy, Ill said his biggest piece for students was when it came to approaching potential employers. “Just be confident and rely on the skills that you’ve learned from an institution like Culver and go out there and be aggressive and be confident when you’re talking to folks.” Interestingly enough, communication major and senior Connor Gillock said that being confident was a key part of his preparation for the career fair. “Just going in there confidently, and just being willing to talk to adults that you may or may not actually get to work with…” 

All in all, it appears that the 2026 Tri State Career Fair at Culver-Stockton was a success. Every student that was interviewed said they intend to follow up with the business representatives they spoke with and also felt they gained crucial experience on how to talk with employers.

For more information on career development contact mdubuque@culver.edu