The University of California is set to host the HireUC Alumni Career Summit on August 21 at the Fresno Convention Center. The event, which is free for UC alumni, will bring together more than 50 employers from a range of industries including education, health care, government, engineering, manufacturing, insurance, renewables, and robotics. Up to a thousand alumni from all 10 UC campuses are expected to attend.
Sponsors for this year’s summit include MKN & Associates, Bakersfield Family Medical Group, and the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), each offering job opportunities at the event. The summit aims to support UC’s network of over 2.5 million alumni by providing career resources and networking opportunities.
This marks the first time the summit will be held in the Central Valley. The region is home to more than 36,000 UC alumni but has fewer job opportunities compared to urban and coastal areas.
“Bringing together UC’s high-achieving graduates and some of California’s most desirable employers across a variety of sectors makes the HireUC summit a source of meaningful careers and connections for so many, especially our first-generation alumni,” said Patricia Châu Nguyễn, director of systemwide alumni engagement for the UC Office of the President and one of the event’s organizers. “We wanted to bring the energy and success of last year’s event in Riverside to one of California’s most vital regions.”
Keynote speakers include UC Merced Chancellor Juan Sánchez Muñoz and Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval, president of California State University, Fresno. Their conversation will be moderated by Derek Sabori, past president of the UC Irvine Alumni Association.
Panels at the summit will address topics such as health care growth in the Central Valley—featuring Regent Brian Komoto—and public service careers with speakers like Esperanza “Espe” Vilma from Stockton’s mayoral office; Assemblymember Joaquin Arambula; Fernanda Santiago Maxwell from HOPE; and Veronica Garibay from Leadership Council for Justice and Accountability.
Additional sessions will focus on building support structures within communities and skill-building relevant to today’s economy—including leveraging artificial intelligence in job searches. Attendees can also take advantage of free headshot photography and participate in a networking mixer at Toca Madera Winery before the main event.
The HireUC Alumni Career Summit is organized by the UC Office of the President systemwide alumni engagement team with collaboration from UC Merced alumni relations, UCSF alumni relations, and all campus alumni associations. This is the sixth such summit organized by UCOP since its inception; previous events have taken place in cities including San Francisco, San Diego, Los Angeles, San Jose, Riverside as well as virtually.
More information about registration can be found on the HireUC career summit page.
