Students find jobs on campus after graduation

Seniors: it is time-- time for the moment you have all been waiting for, job hunting! Or should I say the most terrifying decision you have had to make since deciding what kind of ramen you wanted to eat for dinner.

Finding a job is probably the most common goal for graduates, and with the number of graduates only increasing annually, it is often the hardest to accomplish in a timely manner.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, in 2013 33.5 per- cent of Americans ages 25 to 29 had at least a bachelor’s degree. Compared to the 24.7 percent of 25 to 29 year olds that had a bachelor’s degree in 1995.

College is a place where we make some of the most critical decisions in our young adult lives. What your major is, who you associate yourself with, whether or not you will go to class, who you should date, what to wear, what to eat... the list can go on and on, and mommy isn’t here to help you. All of those decisions are somewhat easy compared to probably the most difficult and challenging question you will face in college, ‘What’s next?’

In 2013, the National Association of Colleges and Employers reported that businesses plan to hire only 2.1 percent more college graduates from the class of 2013 than they did from the class of 2012, which equates to about 13 percent of graduates. This statistic is a reality check to the nearly three million students who are, according to Statisticbrain.com, projected to receive a degree in 2014. For you non-math majors, that comes out to only 390,000 jobs for graduates. Talk about survival of the fittest.

All of these statistics might be frightening, but even though this might be a reality check for some of you, that is not the purpose of this article. The Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2012 recorded a four-year record high availability of jobs, which averaged to about 3.8 million opportunities.

The job market is looking better than it has in recent years and on aver- age, according to Money Magazine, it takes approximately 3 to 9 months for a

graduate to find a job. Recent graduate and Ottawa University Alum Sydnee Krueger was hired

on this summer as Student Activities Coordinator and is a perfect example of how easy it can be to find employment.

“It was a blessing to find a job so quickly,” Kruger said. She graduated with a degree in Physical Education with an emphasis in Recreation and Sports Administration in an astonishing 3 years.

When asked about her job search post graduation, Krueger stated, “I was most worried about finding a job that actually fit me, something that I was genuinely interested in as well as something that was located near OU,” where she plans on returning to in search of a masters degree in Education.

Joshua Giambalvo, also a recent graduate of OU, like Kruegar was hired on during the summer months as a Graduate assistant in the Adawe center.

“I really didn’t know what I was going to do after graduation. It wasn’t until two months before graduation that it crossed my mind to apply for a position at OU,” Giambalvo said.

Ottawa University’s goal is to “prepare students for a life of significance” and what better way to do that than to offer a stepping stone from school directly into the professional work place.

The University not only condones hiring its students as employees, but it even allows them to pursue an even higher level of education at the University’s expense. After a year of employment with the university, employees have the option to return to OU as a student, allowing them to work and pursue another degree simultaneously.

“The best part of my job is being able to work with the students. They are the life of this campus and bring new thoughts and ideas,” Resident Director Brandy Hicks said. “The transition is difficult for everyone because of the drastic role change. I believe the students that are involved with extracurricular activities adjust well because of the hands on experience that they encounter through their organizations.”