Student Success
Your career is not a job, it is where passion meets purpose.
Career centers can be intimidating. Career services at Oak Valley is different, built on individual connection, support, and your career goals. If you do not know what you want to do — that is natural. If you change you mind — that is normal. Nearly all career paths zig and zag, and you will be equipped to take each turn.
Where do I start?
This is your journey. Many schools do not focus or emphasize career planning. It is up to you to do all the heavy lifting.
We care about your career from your first semester. Your career success is at the heart of what makes your college experience valuable. What do you want to do today, tomorrow, and five years from now? Not sure? You are not alone. Every student is unique and every journey is personal.
At Oak Valley, you will explore career options and opportunities nearly every semester. You will engage in personality profiles and tap into career professionals from private industry, government, ministry, education, and every field you can imagine.
Some students believe a business degree narrows your options. The reality is you can do just about anything with an undergraduate business degree, and it is okay to want to do something other than “business.”
While most students come in wanting to pursue a career in accounting, marketing, finance, general administration, or other traditional business areas, many students and graduates have gone into law, firefighting, teaching, ministry, social services, and nonprofit administration. You can do practically anything using your degree at Oak Valley as a foundation.
With no student loans, you will be free of the burden of debt to explore a host of opportunities where God leads you.
Services Offered
From internships to career opportunities, you will be able to tap into a host of services that prepare you for your next step in your career journey
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Mentors are influential professionals who are able to help you navigate your college and professional experience. Most students engage with a mentor. The mentoring process is a structured 10-month engagement where you meet with your mentor monthly (some students/mentors meet more frequently). Oftentimes, mentors become lifelong connections to help you with your career and journey beyond college.
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Every Oak Valley student takes part in at least one semester length internship. Some recent internships include - law firms, government agencies, manufacturing companies. Student intern in a wide variety of areas, including human resources, project management, law, marketing, finance, accounting, and insurance. If you have a dream, chances are you can intern in a related field. If you are not sure about what you want to do, an internship is great time to explore the opportunities that are out there. It is also common for an internship to help students decide what the do not want to do.
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Career counseling involves guiding you toward your strengths and identifying career paths to apply those strengths. Maybe you want to do back-office jobs (e.g. accounting), or you may be a people-person (HR or sales), or perhaps you enjoy a mix of both (project management or marketing). However God has gifted you, there is a career path that fits, and Oak Valley staff and faculty will help you find your way.
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Unlike other institutions where career services are outside of your academic program, at Oak Valley, career development is integrated in the curriculum. Your journey starts by doing personality profiles, career exploration, and developing your voice for your career. This takes place as part of the curriculum and your courses. Throughout several courses in the program, you develop your resume, learn how to present yourself to prospective employers, and set up your online profiles in various career-oriented sites.
CEO Visits
Throughout each semester, 5-6 students are able to visit with local CEO’s at their companies. CEO Visits usually take place over lunch, an informal environment, where the CEO share’s his/her journey, challenges, and insights on leadership. While you may not remember your accounting or marketing class, every student remembers meeting with a CEO and getting a behind-the-scene view of a leader’s life.
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Students have the opportunity to visit with partners at local law firms specializing in business, construction, human resources, and other areas of the law.
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Several CEO Visits each year are with leaders of manufacturing companies. It is remarkable what continues to be manufactured in Southern California. These visits often include tours of the facilities to see how the manufacturing process works in a modern high-tech infused economy.
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Service companies, ranging from business services, accounting, finance, and everything in between, make up the bulk of jobs and business opportunities in Southern California. Students sit down at lunch with CEOs of these companies and get to learn industry trends and how tech (e.g. AI) influences the future of services.
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From government to nonprofit to social services and ministry, students meet with leaders from a range of industries and organizations to hear how excellence and Christian stewardship is lived out by leaders every day. These transformational experiences help students appreciate leadership and how and where they may consider going after college.
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Students move on to promising careers in a wide variety of fields and professions. A business degree is one offers some of the most transferable skills employers seek - time and project management, presentation and writing skills, prioritization, and technical skills such as accounting, finance, statistics, and marketing.
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Business majors and graduates often comprise mid-level and senior management positions at companies, organizations, and government agencies. That is due to their background and general skills being able to supervise people, manage projects, and analyze processes.
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At Oak Valley, you will develop skills and designed to push things along. While management is important, being able to carry out and offer direction and vision are powerful.
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Oak Valley’s Christian teaching, ethics, and values are prized by not just Christians. As a graduate, you will understand empathy, compassion, and service on a different level than your peers.
Career Outcomes
Oak Valley College graduates have moved on to a diverse range of professions and industry, including accounting, finance, marketing, ministry, teaching, and entrepreneurship. Most recent surveys show that 85% of Oak Valley grads are gainfully employed in a career aligned with their degree and interests or are in graduate school.
Join a Caring Community
Beyond the classroom, at Oak Valley you will find a culture a climate unlike anything you have likely experienced before. Your career success is not an afterthought, it is baked into the program and many of the activities you experience.
Professors are from business, ministry, and nonprofit organizations. They are senior leaders. Unlike most colleges and universities where professors have little or no experience outside of higher education, every professor you experience at Oak Valley has practical real-world experience meeting deadlines, supervising personnel, overseeing projects, and meeting budgets.
Oak Valley is a safe space where you are able to test your ideas and tap into your God-given talents. It is also a place designed to introduce you to real-world expectations and opportunities for after college.
