In an effort to better serve Oklahoma Christian University students and alumni, the career services department is re-launching as Day Six: Calling and Career. To celebrate, Day Six will hold a brand launch today through Wednesday during chapel.
Will Blanchard, executive director of advancement, oversaw the initial launch of the Day Six model and Susan Hoover, director of calling and career, has led the project since its inception at the beginning of the fall semester.
According to Hoover, the purpose of having an office that provides career services is to fully equip students, not only academically but also practically and toward a greater cause.
“College is the perfect time for students to explore their kingdom purpose, try on different careers, shadow an alum or just sit down and talk to a mentor,” Hoover said. “We’re doing a disservice to our students if we don’t address that during their time here. We decided to rebrand our office to reflect this new guidepost because we wanted the whole student body to understand that we are here to walk through the trenches with them and discover what they’re meant to do after their time at OC and into the future.”
Day Six, inspired by the sixth day of creation when God made man, promotes “Six Things You Were Made For” found in the first two chapters of Genesis, including: working with spirit, caring for creation, helping in community, enjoying life and beauty, multiplying one’s talents and bearing God’s image.
“When people are searching for direction in their life and career, a question you often hear is ‘What was I made for?’” Blanchard said. “Looking at Scripture, there are very few instances where anyone is actually made and a God-given rationale is described for their making. However, Genesis 1 and 2 provide a wonderful narrative of how and why God made the very first people. Moreover, the story in Genesis takes place in a perfect environment—the Garden—so it offers a glimpse of what people should be doing without all the noise and chaos of the world we know.”
According to Blanchard, Day Six is more than the career services department with a different name. Not only do they have a new location in Gaylord Hall, but they have also added additional personnel to the team and folded Day Six into the larger strategy of Oklahoma Christian’s advancement and alumni teams.
“We have added strengths and aptitude coaching in a big way to our offerings,” Blanchard said. “OC donors have invested money in seeing Day Six launch and grow, too, which means we can do more for the students than ever before. This summer, all incoming freshmen will take Clifton Strengths as part of Earn Your Wings and they will be challenged to consider their callings at the outset of their college careers. More offerings are coming, too, based on student interest—internship opportunities, mentorship programming, more ‘adulting’ seminars, etc.”
Blanchard said the department has fundamentally changed how they think and talk about what was career services. Their goal for their office and the students is much more holistic—they help students pursue meaningful, God-centered lives. According to Blanchard, “career” is part of this goal, but is not the central focus.
In addition to continuing the Adulting 101 workshop series with the alumni office and annual events such as the career fair and the JCPenney’s Suit-Up event, Hoover said Day Six is planning more events.
“We’re always looking to the students and what they tell us they need to create programming to best fit their desires and goals,” Hoover said. “We are currently working with an alum who has had decades of success in business and would like to share career advice with current students.”
Since the fall semester, Hoover and her team have widely promoted the website Handshake. While Hoover said she believes it is important for students to have and maintain a LinkedIn profile, Handshake will be able to serve them better while they are still in school because it is exclusive to students.
“Recruiters from all kinds of companies across the U.S. have told us they post jobs there first and have a better success rate at reaching the right talent,” Hoover said. “We wanted to make it easier for our students to connect with employers of all sizes, industries and cities, and this is the fastest and best way to do that. We’re among about 700 universities nationwide using Handshake.”
Day Six offers a variety of services to students and alumni, which a lot of people do not know about, according to Hoover. These services include one-on-one resume review, mock interviews, mentor and shadowing opportunities, job and internship search tips, Strengths Finder, Career Direct aptitude testing and more.
Students can email daysix@oc.edu to set up an appointment.
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