‘ ‘ ‘ NEW YORK ‘- A low number of sign-ups forced Pitt to cancel a chartered trip to New York… ‘ ‘ ‘ NEW YORK ‘- A low number of sign-ups forced Pitt to cancel a chartered trip to New York City for the Big East Conference Career Fair last week, but that didn’t stop some Pitt students from attending. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The Student Employment and Placement Assistance office scheduled a week of career-building events with professionals from various fields in New York City leading up to Friday’s fair, which is one of the largest career-networking events in the country. The annual fair is open to students and alumni of all the Big East schools. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Despite the low turnout for the week-long event, about 80 Pitt students still registered to attend the career fair, said Matthew Galmoff, a Student Employment and Placement Assistant Office employee and Big East Career Fair representative. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The $399 cost of the trip would have included round-trip bus transportation and hotel lodging. After the cancellation, students had to find their own ways to the fair. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ On the day of the event, thousands of students from across the 16 Big East schools rushed the convention floors of Madison Square Garden. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Attendees perused booths of more than 100 hiring organizations for full-time, part-time and internship positions. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Recent Pitt graduate Winny Zhu, a part-time bookkeeper in the fashion industry, said she left the event feeling positive about the experience. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘Overall it was OK. I mostly was looking for jobs in New York, in the government or finance [sectors] … I researched the companies before I came here, and it went well,’ said Zhu. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Ivy Blazevic, a senior business and finance major, also felt confident about her interaction with employers. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘I snuck a peak at some of the stuff they were writing on my resumes, and it seemed pretty good,’ she said. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Other students and alumni came just to see what the fair had to offer.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Michael Stahl, a Pitt alumnus from the class of 1975, has been in New York for 10 years, working in banking and finance. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘I have a job, I just want to see what else is out there,’ he said. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ This was the conference’s fifth live career fair. The Big East also sponsors an annual e-fair, a virtual career fair that allows students to browse career opportunities from their homes.