Three Practical Ways Meredith Prepared Me for My Career

Graduating and starting her first job from home hasn’t been easy for Abigail Crooks, ’20. But thanks to her resilience, she’s still been successful in her new role at Cisco.

When she wrote for our admissions blog last year, Abigail had just been hired months prior to  graduation. She already knew she was well-equipped to enter the workforce, but now after 90 days working her new job from home, she’s discovered that Meredith prepared her in ways she hadn’t fully realized.

While there are many things to consider when you are looking for the right college, your professional future is one of the most important. It is also not as far away as you might think! An important question to ask yourself and your admissions counselor when considering a college or university is, “how will this school prepare me for my career?”

To help you learn what to look for in an answer, here are three ways Abigail believes Meredith prepared her for her career.

1. At Meredith, I learned to communicate openly and honestly.

Learning to communicate my needs, goals, struggles, and more with my professors at Meredith is a skill that I was able to transfer to the workforce. Learning to have that confidence inside and outside of the classroom has made me more confident in my daily job and has made the transition easier. Because I learned the skill of open and honest communication, I can communicate any onboarding struggles/challenges that I was/am having with my team, and confidently and effectively share my ideas and projects with the team, too!

Takeaway for you: The small class size at Meredith not only promotes a comfortable space for discussion, it also encourages strong relationships between faculty and students. With an 11:1 faculty to student ratio, your professors know you by name – making communication a two-way street, which is hard to find at larger universities.

2. Meredith taught me to get out of my comfort zone. 

During my time on campus, I was very involved in organizations and held leadership positions. Many of these positions were outside of my comfort zone, but they gave me an opportunity to grow by giving me the extra push I needed to work with people and explore ideas that I had never considered before.

I also learned how to expand my comfort zone through my major. In my business courses, we did a lot of group projects that brought me out of my comfort zone, especially in classes outside of my direct area of study. I am now experiencing these same situations in my job. Working from home itself has been out of my comfort zone, but some of my responsibilities have been as well. And because I’ve learned to push the bounds of my comfort zone, I’m motivated to take on projects and experiences that challenge me and make me feel like I am growing as a professional and a person.

Takeaway for you: There are many opportunities to get involved and lead on campus at Meredith. And with faculty who care strongly about your growth, you’ll be well-equipped and encouraged to pursue challenging opportunities that align with your strengths.

3. Thanks to my professors, I gained real-life experience through my courses at Meredith. 

Through the classes I took in the business school, I was able to gain real-life experience by completing projects and internships with companies and organizations within my community. My professors prepared me not only with their expertise in their fields but they also brought in guest speakers who were able to speak on the current climate and business world. I am extremely appreciative of the application-based classes, even more so now that I see how much of that real experience translates to my current role. The group projects, case studies, and industry-based analyses we did prepared me for working and what it actually would be like. I still call on some of my professors to help me in my job and to ask about their experiences when they were working.

Takeaway for you: Through community-based learning and internships, many Meredith students gain experience and connections in their field as early as their sophomore year – making them competitive candidates in the job market upon graduation.

Attending a college that provides you with a multitude of opportunities to not only advance within the institution, but advance and thrive once you leave it, is priceless. Meredith College offers internship search guidance, career planning support, and networking events. These tools will help build the confidence you need to succeed in the professional world, so be sure to ask about them when you’re visiting colleges.