By: Katelyn Norris
Bellarmine University has continued to boast its high post-graduation placement rates. However, what is it about being a Knight that sets up students for their quick jump into a graduate program or career field?
According to data recorded by the Career Development Center, 75% of the undergraduate graduating class of 2020 went into the work force, while 22% went on to continue their education. An additional 3% said they were still looking/ exploring their options.
Assistant Vice President for Career Development & Strategic Partnerships Dr. Lilly Massa-McKinley said she believes Bellarmine students are inherently ambitious and this is a large factor in why BU has such high placement rates.
Massa-McKinley also said it is the environment Bellarmine has created for its students, from encouragement to explore high-impact internship experiences to career development opportunities.
“For the class of 2020, we had had an advising appointment with 75% of all graduates,” Massa-McKinley said. “I see more and more majors that have required internships and they’re pushing the students to think about that because choosing an internship is taking a little baby step toward what you want when you graduate.”
Amandarae Matthew is a class of 2020 graduate. She is in an alternative certification program called TeachKentucky and is a middle school teacher in the JCPS system.
Matthews said she received her job offer in July 2020. She said she discovered TeachKentucky through Handshake, which is a job/internship resource open to all students. Beyond the physical resources that helped her in her career, Mattews said Bellarmine has always prepared her for work.
“Staff and faculty were pushing me in my undergraduate into my extracurriculars to be a teacher, but I just didn’t realize it until the end of my senior year. I was in residence life and I was very involved in the academic side of things,” Matthews said. “Bellarmine really showed me my interest in the world of academia, but I kept being pushed into the research field. Working with all the business-minded people I realized I wasn’t as passionate about it as they were and that something was missing.”
Senior Lizzie Hamilton said BU’s encouragement for internships was what allowed her to have a job offer lined up after graduation. Hamilton accepted a job offer with the accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.
She said got to work on fake case studies for PWC in one of her accounting classes, which allowed her to network and secure an internship the summer before her senior year. She accepted a position after her internship.
“The professors at Bellarmine are extremely well-connected, and that is really helpful. I had done other internships besides that one and those came directly from one of the professors so that helped me have that experience,” Hamilton said.
An internship was key for 2020 graduate Drew Troutman. Troutman had an internship with advertising agency Doe Anderson. He said he reached out after graduation and said he was ready for work.
“I let him know that I was done, and I was happy to do any freelance work for them. I did freelance work for about a month or two,” Troutman said. “My boss was happy with the way things were going and he agreed to allow me to work on a contract basis.”
Massa-McKinley said high-impact internship experiences have gone up by 10% over the last four year. The class of 2020 had 80% of its members complete an internship, which can include student teaching, clinicals in the health professions and scientific research for the science fields.
“I would like to say there’s a culture of experiential learning and I hope that students really do understand the value of it,” Massa-McKinley said. “We also looked at outcomes by experiential learning. They are more likely to go into the workforce if they have completed an internship.”
Senior Macy Jones will head to grad school in the fall, although she said she is undecided about which school she will attend. She said she is going into a graduate program because she has been encouraged through her Bellarmine career to further her education and obtain a master’s in education, with an emphasis in student affairs.
“I think the way that student leadership is seen at Bellarmine is so much more ingrained into our culture than it is at a lot of undergraduate universities,” Jones said.
Jones said her time as student director of Week of Welcome has really shaped her goals and allowed her to discover her love of working with students. She said her position showed her how to grow in her skills and how to provide resources to others.
“I want keep growing that foundation that I’ve set and to dive more into like assessment data like Bellarmine showed me. I’m just excited to dive deeper into that,” Jones said. “Hopefully I will get to work in administration on a college campus with first-year students and I can continue with the skills I have gained here.”
The class of 2021 is a few months away from graduation, and Massa-McKinley said it is important to remember the resources and encouragement Bellarmine faculty will provide. She said one important thing any BU student can do to help themselves is network.
Massa-McKinley said BU faculty and staff allow students to discover and consider numerous post-graduation options, from grad school to a job in an interesting field.
“I typically recommend getting your job search started by spring break if you are really looking to have something finalized when you graduate,” Massa-McKinley said. “But last year it was also a pretty like scary thing, you know and kind of entering into the unknown this year, too. I think it’s best to explore your options now, and even later on, Bellarmine still has resources for you in the future.”