The College of Engineering held the first day of its biannual career fair Wednesday at the Jane S. McKimmon Center. The fair continues today from 9:30 a.m. until 4 p.m.

Despite America’s current economic crisis, students packed the McKimmon center eager to get noticed by and impress top potential employers.

However, Brian Koehler, director of the engineering career fair, said company registration for this year’s fair is down.

“Over the two days we’ll have about 246 [companies] registered,” he said. “That is about 20 percent down from previous semesters.”

Despite the slight decrease in numbers, Koehler said the 2009 fair has had one of the largest student turnouts in its history.

“It still ranks as the third largest in N.C. State history,” he said.

Companies were eager to seek out new employees for internships, co-ops and full-time positions, though some were definitely impacted by the economic crises.

Representatives from Duke Energy and Exxon-Mobil both said the economy has hurt their ability to offer graduating students jobs.

Representatives from White Oak Technologies and IBM both refused to comment, citing directions from their corporate offices.

Some companies, however, were not set back at all by the economy. Students flocked around the National Security Agency information table.

Tonya Stankowitz, chief of the office of recruitment for the NSA, said the NSA is looking for skilled graduates.

“We are looking for technical students,” she said. “We are primarily interested in electrical engineers, computer engineers, we are hiring some power engineers. We are the largest employer of mathematicians in the United States. We are lucky in that [the economy] isn’t limiting us, we are a federal government so it’s not a profit organization. The NSA is planning to hire 1,500 people this year with one third in the technical skill fields.”

Student reactions to the fair were mixed.

Daniel Piephoff, a junior in chemical engineering, said he was surprised some companies didn’t show up.

“I was disappointed that Exxon-Mobil didn’t show up. A couple of places I was hoping to apply as a chemical engineer said they weren’t hiring,” he said.

Some students, however, were pleased with the turnout.

Stephane Henrion, a senior in electrical engineering, said he was happy with the fair.

“It was a pretty hectic fair,” he said. “Tennessee Valley Authority was here and they are new to the fair so I’m definitley excited to talk to them.”

Henrion said he is currently doing an internship but is trying to keep good contacts for future employment.

Other students were equally excited about the event.

Christopher Freeze, a freshman in material science and engineering, said he came to the fair not looking for full-time employment.

“I’m  looking for a co-op right now and possibly an internship,” he said.

Christian Estes, a senior in chemical engineering  with a biomolecular interest, said he had a slightly different opinion on the fair.

“I had to skip classes to come here,” he said. “Last year there were a lot more openings in summer internships especially. I think [the economy] limits the ability to get summer internships, full time jobs they don’t seem to be lacking here. [The companies] are more interested in not paying [full-time] people that aren’t going to be actually working for them constantly.”

After a long day of interviews and making their best first impressions on future employers, the students made their way out of the center at about 4 p.m.

For Koehler, the first day of the career fair went well.

“It’s been a huge success,” Koehler said. “We had over 1,450 students come through. Companies come here to N.C. State for the very best and brightest.”

Deputy Sports Editor Ty Johnson contributed to this story.