McFerrin Center for Entrepreneurship Hosts Inaugural Aggie 100™ Career Fair

More than 200 current students attended the inaugural event featuring 55 Aggie 100™ recruiting companies.

By Lara Robertson, McFerrin Center for Entrepreneurship at Texas A&M University

COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS February 22, 2022 –The McFerrin Center for Entrepreneurship hosted its inaugural Aggie 100™ Career Fair Friday, Feb. 11 at Texas A&M University’s Memorial Student Center. Exclusive to past Aggie 100™ honored companies, the career fair aimed to connect company representatives recruiting for internships, part-time and full-time positions with current students from across a variety of majors, interests and sectors. Fifty-five companies, 50% of which were represented by the company’s Aggie founder, were on hand to recruit, meet and connect with the more than 200 current students in attendance.

Held annually since its inception in 2005, Aggie 100™ honors the 100 fastest-growing, Aggie-owned or Aggie-led businesses in the world. Additionally, it provides a forum to pass lessons to the next generation of Aggie entrepreneurs and has grown significantly in its 17 years. After hearing the consistent message from honorees each year that “Aggies want to hire more Aggies,” the McFerrin Center established the Aggie 100™ Career Fair.

Christine Hollinden ‘87, owner/principal at Hollinden Marketers + Strategists and four-time Aggie 100™ honoree, noted that this job fair was unique in that in addition to recruiting students, the companies were able and eager to network with and support each other in identifying good candidates due to their shared entrepreneurial experiences and connections to Texas A&M.

“Texas A&M is known for producing outstanding students,” Hollinden stated. “[The Aggie 100 Career Fair] gives the opportunity for students to really look at entrepreneurial-minded firms, these fast-growth organizations, as a great career opportunity, a great employment opportunity.”

Jackson Wiese ’25, a business honors major, made a point to attend to “meet entrepreneurs and [participate] in a community of entrepreneurship” and noted he particularly enjoyed the unique opportunity to connect directly with founders and companies across diverse industries.

“It’s no secret that the Aggie Network is strong and well-known globally, and this career fair was about us doing our part to plant more seeds and grow more opportunities,” Blake Petty ’98, executive director of the McFerrin Center, said. “At McFerrin, our passion and focus are on those with an entrepreneurial interest or attitude, so connecting current students with proven, successful Aggie 100™ companies is an obvious next step for our support of Aggie Entrepreneurs.”

Next year’s Aggie 100™ Career Fair is already in the planning stages, with many of this year’s recruiting companies signed on for the event.

About McFerrin Center for Entrepreneurship

The McFerrin Center for Entrepreneurship serves as the hub for entrepreneurship at Texas A&M University. The McFerrin Center’s goal is to enhance entrepreneurial education by providing training, networking and assistance to enterprising students, faculty and former students.

The McFerrin Center enables the startup and growth of countless businesses and provides competitive opportunities, professional development and financial support to aspiring entrepreneurs in the Aggie community through the support of a robust volunteer mentor network, corporate supporters, faculty and staff.

The McFerrin Center defines entrepreneurship as an attitude that acts upon opportunity. In this spirit, the McFerrin Center strives to deliver programs and events that are inspiring, engaging, motivating and life-changing. This philosophy has resulted in the McFerrin Center for Entrepreneurship offering more than 30 unique programs each year that positively impact the lives of thousands of students, veterans and other professionals seeking to blaze their own trail as an entrepreneur.

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Media Contact: Lara Robertson, communications manager, McFerrin Center for Entrepreneurship, 979- 845-1724, lrobertson@tamu.edu