West Virginia University students and their parents will have an opportunity to learn about careers and academic majors Friday, Oct. 6, as part of Fall Family Weekend.

Careers Night Out will be from 2-8 p.m. in the Mountainlairs Vandalia Lounge. Majors Night Out will be from 2-8 p.m. in the Lair Ballrooms.

WVU alumni representing a cross section of academic degrees and professions will be available to talk to students during Careers Night Out, said Robert L. Kent, director of the Career Services Center.

“The concept is to create a fair setting in which students can come by and talk with alumni about their career paths,”Kent said.”The objective is to heighten awareness of career planning and decision-making, particularly for freshmen.”

Participating alumni include state Sen. Michael Oliverio, who has a masters degree in business administration; Jim Robinson, a mechanical and aerospace engineering graduate who works for Bettis Atomic Lab in Pittsburgh; Glenn Lehman, a political science alumnus and sales manager for Lakeview Scanticon Resort and Conference Center at Cheat Lake; and Hank Burton, a computer science graduate who runs his own computer software company in Westover.

“This is not a job fair, although an internship or future job could come out of the contacts the students make,”Kent said.

Majors Night Out allows students and their parents to learn about the many degree programs offered at WVU , said April Stannard, a counselor with the Undergraduate Academic Services Center.

Representatives from 37 academic and student support departments will be available to talk with students, Stanner said. Participating colleges include Agriculture, Forestry and Consumer Sciences; Business and Economics; Engineering and Mineral Resources; Perley Isaac Reed School of Journalism; Robert C. Byrd Health Sciences Center; and College of Law.

“The event is for any student, undecided or decided,”Stannard said.”It is mainly for freshmen and their parents, but it is also for students who want information about chosen majors and other programs the University has to offer, such as double majors, minors or certificates. We call it one-stop shopping because we have majors information under one roof.”