The job picture looks bright for soon-to-be University of Oregon graduates. Employment demand for college graduates is very high and national surveys indicate this trend will continue, says UO Career Center director Larry Smith. "We have had record numbers of recruiters seeking UO students this year, up 23 percent from previous years, and we had 26 percent more law firms seeking UO law school graduates," says Smith. Top-demand majors included accounting, computer and information science, business and liberal arts. "More importantly, they're looking for students with strong problem solving, communication and teamwork skills," says Smith. He advises students to describe to prospective employers how they developed their problem-solving skills and to demonstrate their communication abilities. Internships continue to be valued by employers because students can demonstrate and further develop their skills, he adds. As a service to students and the community, the Career Center capitalizes on the UO's "Best Wired Campus" designation from Yahoo Internet Life magazine and provides a comprehensive web site listing the best career and employment sites. Smith says strong employment areas for students to investigate are retail management and sales, accounting, financial services, elementary and secondary education and government. "Downsizing is slowing and I expect an increase in recruiting activity among major international companies," says Smith. "They will compete with all companies for top talent." SOURCE: Larry Smith, director, UO Career Center, (541) 346-6005; e-mail, <larry@career.uoregon.edu>. LOCAL NONPROFITS PUT STUDENTS' CASTAWAYS TO GOOD USE Because you can't always take it with you, the University of Oregon is working with two local nonprofit agencies to recycle items students will leave behind when they head off for summer vacation on Friday, June 12. The Office of University Housing contracted with St. Vincent DePaul and Springfield/Marcola Family Resource Centers which will collect and distribute articles donated by students for reuse by low-income residents. "Rather than throw them away, students can put discarded goods in containers we're placing in each of the residence halls," says Andre Moran, who is coordinating the effort for the UO housing office. "Students would otherwise throw away tons of perfectly good items," Moran says, "so this is a true example of one person's trash being another's treasure." St. Vincent DePaul is managing the project, now an annual event, and will place a total of 90 collection containers throughout the residence halls. The containers will be emptied daily by Springfield/Marcola Family Resource Centers which will sort and distribute the items to families in need, as well as to shelters and charities. St. Vincent DePaul will pick up all of the containers on Saturday, June 13, and will use donated property collected at that time for distribution at its social service locations, or for rehabilitation and resale at its stores. Proceeds from sales go to support the agency's housing, food boxes and other programs. SOURCE: Andre Moran, buyer, Office of University Housing, (541) 346-4299; e-mail: andremor@oregon.uoregon.edu. UO STUDENT IS NONTRADITIONAL IN EVERY WAY Yvonne Stubbs is a 40-something grandmother, she's working her way through school, she's black, and she's about to graduate from the University of Oregon. At first, Stubbs was worried that she wouldn't fit in with younger, more traditional students, but that fear quickly faded. She hasn't looked back since. She originally tried college right after high school, but going to classes while holding down a full-time job proved too much. She dropped out, moved from Portland to Eugene and went to work in a bank. Twenty years later, Stubbs was still working at low-paying clerical jobs watching co-workers with college degrees win all the promotions. "I decided I'd had enough," she says. Stubbs didn't sign up for business courses, though. Instead, she enrolled in art classes. Her friends asked what she expected to do with an art degree. "I want to do art," she replied. Five years later, Stubbs has created a whole body of work that focuses on how African Americans have come out of oppression. Her favorite piece--a portrait of Martin Luther King Jr., and Malcolm X--recently caught the eye of King's daughter, Yolanda, who recently visited the UO to deliver a speech. King called the painting, "the best portrait of my father I've ever seen." To arrange an interview, contact Yvonne Stubbs at the UO Black Student Union, (541) 346-4379. -30- #T-4106/Day