As part of a large-scale effort to better prepare students for life post-graduation, Student Success has begun to implement a number of initiatives to make the transition easier for recent graduates.

NEW PROGRAMS

One of the major noticeable changes has been to the Career Expo. For years, Student Success only hosted this event in the spring and offered different career paths for Biolans to explore depending on their major. In the fall semester, however, the Career Development center offered an additional Expo for students, adding to the paths presented in the spring. Now, with the Spring Career Expo just a few weeks away, Student Success hopes that students can take away some useful information.

“We have almost 100 employers coming to campus,” said Tiffany Lee, director of Career Development and Success. “It’s the biggest career fair we’ve ever held, and we’re really excited about it. We have employers coming from a whole range of industries, and it’s going to be great.”

In addition to the revamped Career Expo, the Career Development center also wants to help students prepare for job interviews and presentations.

“Our Peer Internship Ambassadors all put together a guide on how to build an ‘elevator pitch,’ which is basically a professional introduction,” Lee said.

SUCCESS IS NO STRANGER

Despite the new initiatives, however, the Student Success Center has always been an excellent resource for students, according to Lee. While the university has strived to help its students be successful for years with a plethora of resources, Student Success believes the improvements to the program will help prepare students even more than before.

“We think that we’re doing a pretty good job but there’s always room for improvement,” Lee said. “There’s always room to keep learning, keep developing resources, and helping students.”

Several students are looking forward to the improvements being presented, and believe they will help students to realize the benefits that the Career Development center has.

“I think for people who don’t put a whole lot of effort into [reaching out to the Career Center], maybe reaching out a bit more will help,” said Arthur Saldana, senior psychology major.

According to Lee, Biola is doing very well statistically in terms of student success. In a recent survey conducted by the university, they found that 88 percent of graduating students were either employed or in graduate school within a year of graduation, according to Chegg. This number remains larger than the national average. Lee believes this is a testament to the effort Biola puts into its students.

One of the most important factors of student success, however, remains the satisfaction of alumni with their investment in school.

Alumnus Sekwhon Grondin, who graduated in May, believes his overall college experience produced a worthwhile return on investment.

“I feel like everything that I have learned at Biola has honestly prepared me for everything that I do in my job now,” Grondin said.