The University of California will host the HireUC Alumni Career Summit on August 21 at the Fresno Convention Center. The event is free for UC alumni and aims to connect up to a thousand attendees from all 10 UC campuses with more than 50 employers representing sectors such as education, health care, government, engineering, manufacturing, insurance, renewables, and robotics.
Sponsors of this year’s summit include MKN & Associates, Bakersfield Family Medical Group, and the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), all offering job openings. The summit includes panel discussions and workshops focused on career issues and regional opportunities.
According to organizers, this is the first time the summit will be held in the Central Valley. The region has over 36,000 UC alumni but typically has fewer job opportunities compared to urban or 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 healthcare opportunities in the Central Valley—highlighted by Regent Brian Komoto’s experience growing a local pharmacy business—and public service careers through speakers like Esperanza Vilma from Stockton’s mayoral office; Assemblymember Joaquin Arambula; Fernanda Santiago Maxwell from HOPE; and Veronica Garibay from Leadership Council for Justice and Accountability.
Other sessions will feature UC Merced alumni Linda Barreto and Josiah Beharry discussing community support initiatives in legal clinics and student advocacy programs. There will also be a session focused on using artificial intelligence for skill-building in today’s economy.
Additional activities include free headshot photography for participants and a networking mixer at Toca Madera Winery owned by a UC alumnus.
The event is organized by the UC Office of the President with collaboration from campus alumni associations including those at Merced and UCSF. This marks the sixth time that HireUC has hosted its career summit in various locations throughout California.
