Master’s at Work
How Seniors at The Master’s University Find Jobs and Represent Christ in the Workforce
During their last semester of college, seniors at The Master’s University (and, really, seniors at every institution in America) hardly go a day without being asked the question: What are you doing after graduation?
Nearly all those asking the question are merely curious. Most can’t actually help seniors find a job. But there is at least one staff member at The Master’s University that asks seniors that question and can help them find employment: Nathan Dougherty.
At some point in their final semester at TMU, every senior will speak to Nathan, who works in the career services department and is the school’s associate director of corporate sponsorship. His goal in those conversations is to make sure students have every resource they need to find a job that suits their skill set, then go through the hiring process.
“We have a job board in the career services department,” Nathan said. “Currently, it has over 600 jobs posted on it. Those are businesses that want to hire TMU students. Most likely, they hired a TMU grad in the past and had a good experience, so they are interested in hiring more TMU grads because they recognize they are people of character, hard work, and integrity.”
Nathan not only points these students to the job board. He also connects them with mentors, men and women who work in whatever field the student is interested in. And he makes sure students are well-prepared for the interview process. In all these ways, and many more, Nathan and the career services department try to bridge the gap for students between life in the classroom and a lifetime in the workforce.
“First and foremost, alumni of TMU are representing Christ when they leave school,” Nathan said. “Certainly, our institution’s goal is to prepare them to do that well. But they also represent TMU in their career. And if they do that with excellence, it encourages businesses to hire more graduates.”
In recent years, Nathan and the career services department have seen a steady increase of employers looking to hire TMU students. Some businesses, particularly in Southern California, come every year to the campus to recruit. The eagerness to hire TMU students speaks to the integrity of the student body and to the quality that employers receive when they hire from the ranks of TMU. The demand for TMU students is particularly high in education, accounting, and the new engineering major.
“Those programs have developed a strong reputation and have sent hundreds of high-quality men and women into the workforce in recent years,” Nathan said.
When TMU students are hired, the career services department takes a photo of them and displays it in their office. Those photos provide a daily reminder for the staff that what they do has very personal, tangible results. They get to help students begin to take those first steps into life after college and begin a lifetime of being salt and light in a world that needs the biblical truth and gospel hope they’ve been saturated in at The Master’s University.
“Our office verse is Colossians 3:23, ‘Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord and not for people,’” Nathan said. “I love that our job is to help believers apply that verse. Work is a platform for believers to be obedient to Christ. It’s not just a means to support ministry. It is ministry. I love helping students see that and helping them understand that their work matters. It’s also just exciting to see all the influence our graduates have already had and will continue to have in the coming years. The gospel is being advanced through TMU graduates in the workforce, and it’s a joy to be on the front lines of connecting our students to their future ministry in the workplace.”
