More than 40 graduate school programs gathered in the Grand Ballroom of the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union to recruit students and teach them more about graduate school.

Bobbi Kingery, a career services counselor, said she organized the recruitment to expose students to graduate schools and get them thinking about applying.

“So many times, graduate school applications are due in December so seniors really need to be on the ball,” Kingery said. “This fair was ideal for juniors and sophomores who are just starting to think about it.”

When students arrived at the fair, they were asked for their E-number or Panthercard, which members of career services scanned into a computer.

She said they gather the information to see how many people came and what their interests were.

“We gage areas of interest based on major; a lot of schools ask for the numbers so they know which programs to send,” Kingery said.

Amanda Schulz, an administrative assistant for the graduate studies department at Western Illinois University, said her goal for the fair was to recruit potential students to Western’s graduate school in general, not just specific programs.

“I also talk about our assistantships available to help pay for schooling and our cost guarantees,” Schulz said.

Katie Stack, a sophomore psychology major, said she is looking at graduate school because she wants to be an occupational therapist. She said to accomplish this career, she needs at least a master’s degree in order to get a job.

“I chose it because I’ve wanted to help people, and it will allow me to work with a diverse group of people,” Stack said.

Stack said she plans to graduate in three years instead of the tradition four years, which is why she is looking at graduate school.

“I just want to start getting more experience and more exposure to the field,” she said. “In psychology, I learn about a lot of the science of it, but when I go to graduate school, a lot of the classes are more geared toward the field and things that can be applied.”

All of Eastern’s graduate programs were also present to recruit.

Lisa LaMasse, a graduate assistant for the counseling and student development department, said the ultimate goal was to get students information even if they chose not to attend Eastern for graduate school.

“It is just about being able to promote graduate school in general,” LaMasse said. “Even if they don’t come to Eastern for it, Eastern graduates going to graduate school is a positive.”

Amy Wywialowski can be reached at 581-2812 or alwywialowski@eiu.edu.