Pacific Union College’s Career and Counseling Center hosted Career Day on November 10 to help give students seeking guidance some direction. The event brought more than 60 working professionals—from a variety of fields ranging from medicine to photography—to PUC’s campus for direct consultation with students exploring career options.
“Career Day gives students and professionals the opportunity to meet face-to-face and discuss the realities of the job as well as different career paths available to them,” says career counselor Laura Gore, who organized the event.
Most of the professionals who came to interact with the students were PUC alumni, and they gave advice on how to use what they learned at an Adventist institution to succeed in their respective fields. “It was really inspiring to see all the great positions held by alumni,” says junior nursing major Kelsi Weathers. “I really appreciated that they gave their honest opinions about the pros and cons of their jobs.”
One highlight of the Career Day program was the featured speaker at colloquy. Emmy Award-winner Patricia Thio, ’01, gave the students three steps to a successful career: learn, work, and give. “Learning from others, working towards your goal, and giving back are so important in reaching your goals,” she said. “But the foundation of a successful career is trusting in God.”
Later that day, Thio held a Q&A session for communication majors to discuss the different paths available to them. Thio showed students how she applied her journalism degree to her work as a documentarian, encouraging them to pursue creative ways to use their majors.
Students consistently give Career Day high ratings on response surveys conducted by the Counseling Center, citing the main benefit as the chance to get information about different career paths and ways to serve society as Christians in the workforce.