KnoXpo Introduces Students to Pathways to Life after Knox

The Bastian Family Center for Career Success hosted KnoXpo: A Careers and Community Expo on Wednesday, October 21, 2026. KnoXpo brought businesses, graduate schools, and professional contacts to campus to interact with students, help them build professional networks, explore career paths, get involved in local volunteer opportunities, and learn what’s available in the local/regional community and beyond. 

“We really wanted to expand our reach to put Knox students in front of our other partners across the country, so that meant post-graduate programs at other universities; that meant employer pipelines and pathways that we have been working on; it meant kind of looking beyond the region and within the region to invite those partners,” said Associate Director of Career Exploration and External Relations Tiffany Springer. “We were really excited to have around 80 vendors or registrants sign up to connect our students to everything.”

KnoXpo was paired with Fall Institute Day. Fall Institute takes place each year, with regular classes called off for a day. This frees up time for students, enabling them to engage in discussions about a wide range of topics, including potential career paths, study abroad programs, and experiential learning.

Vendors also appreciated the opportunity to get in front of students and tell them what they are looking for in a ‘real-world,’ ready graduate.

“With events like this, we’re able to stay connected regarding future staff. Knox College and Carl Sandburg College both have been kind of feeders to us with nursing students and potential doctors,” Eric Rahm of Graham Health Systems said. “As part of this community, we want to steer students kind of in the right direction.”

The event also offered breakout sessions throughout the day for students to learn more about professional development best practices and career pathways. Sessions touched on topics such as study abroad, careers in human resources, opportunities for research and grants through the Gerald and Carol Vovis Center for Research and Advanced Study, information on applying to graduate school, preparing your application for the health field, information on business school graduate programs, information on KnoXTreks and new partner Vitalant, customer service, acts of kindness, mock interviews in the pre-health field, how to handle job interviews, and navigating your way through an unsure career path.

“If we’re going to have a whole day of no classes, let’s treat this as a one-day student conference and include breakout sessions where students would have dedicated time to learn about specific programs and ask questions with the representatives that were here from those companies, programs, and schools,” Springer said. “I’m hoping as we go forward, maybe on an annual basis, those breakout sessions will be more aligned with faculty. This can turn into a really great opportunity for Knox to showcase all the great connections that our faculty have, not only on campus but off campus as well.”

Students looking for more information on available opportunities can dive in and ask questions better to navigate their college experience and path to the future.

“I really wanted to know more about research opportunities and grad school because I do want to pursue a Ph.D.,” said neuroscience major Tracy Huang ’29. “I wanted to know about the process to apply to a Ph.D. program and how my research can help me get into that program. I had already started looking at those research opportunities, but this was really helpful because it provided more details and specifics, like how to approach and work with my professors and potential mentors.”

While networking and information were the goals of the day, there was also time to take a breather from planning for the future. KnoxWell added fun breaks throughout the day, including sessions of goat yoga, therapy dogs, and a petting zoo.

“It is really a great day to do both/and. We’re just about at that midpoint in the term, so it is a nice day to also continue that motivation in their studies and the academic side, but also take a couple breathers and some moments for some self-care with KnoxWell,” Springer added