Anderson University
Anderson, Indiana
1995 grad
Major: mass communications
Career: Eric works as a producer for big networks like NBC and ESPN. He gets to travel across the country to work with celebrities like Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods. Sometimes his work even takes him out of the country—to places like Australia. In the summer of 2000, Eric went to Sydney, for the Olympics. He and the other producers on his team did such a phenomenal job that they walked away with an Emmy for their coverage of the games. Most recently, Eric has been producing ESPN's "Great Outdoor Games." Eric says he received valuable experience for his career by working as student manager for Covenant Productions, Anderson's video production house. "The head of Anderson's broadcasting department, Donald Boggs, always supported me," he says. "He challenged me, which I was really grateful for. He asked me to floor-direct one of the Gaither Family Homecoming video shoots. As a college junior, directing [the Gaither videos] was a little intimidating. But Professor Boggs' encouragement helped give me the confidence to step up and do what needed to be done."

Hope College
Holland, Michigan
1997 grad
Major: political science
Career: After graduation, Lisa headed for Washington, D.C. to work as a senior legislative assistant to Michigan Congressman Pete Hoekstra. While at Hope College, Lisa spent a semester interning on Capitol Hill, and found that she loved the fast-paced, high-stress style of national politics. "I'm always dealing with things that come up suddenly, so there's a lot of crisis management to the job," she says. "Your legislator doesn't have time to learn about every single issue, so that's my responsibility: Do the research, get an in-depth knowledge of the issue, and then present a clear case why he [Rep. Hoekstra] should do what I'm recommending. I feel like I really can play a role in what's happening across the country." Lisa says her political science classes at Hope helped her understand different perspectives on a lot of political issues. But the semester in Washington was the highlight of her college experience. "It would have been a little scary for me to just pick up and move out here, so that really solidified for me that this was what I wanted to do for a career."

Westmont College
Santa Barbara, California
1996 grad
Major: business finance
Career: Julie works for a financial management firm near Seattle. Her company helps wealthy clients handle their money well. But in college, Julie did more than study finance. She starred on Westmont's top-ranked soccer team, and developed a love for coaching. So she and a friend from the Westmont team started an inner-city youth soccer league in Seattle last year. "Westmont provided a great education; I felt very prepared for what I'm doing now—not only my job, but I'm finishing up my master's degree, and I felt very prepared for that," she says. "In college I also got a great foundation for ministry, and I've gained so much through the relationships I developed there." The soccer league enters its second season this fall. Julie's plan is to form a select traveling team when the kids are old enough.

Geneva College
Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania
2000 gradMajors: broadcasting and speech communication
Career: The Center of Science and Industry (COSI) in Columbus, Ohio, is both a museum and a special-event hot spot. Ann works as an events coordinator for COSI Productions, helping plan and orchestrate the black-tie dinners, exhibit previews, and wedding receptions that take place at the center. She says her communications major comes in handy. "I deal with people all the time; my whole job is communication. I'm very detail-oriented, and this job is very challenging, because each event is different. I'm very much a perfectionist, but that's probably why I do a good job and enjoy what I do. It's a very secular environment, and that's a big change from college. But it's a great place to work. It's probably a starting point and a stepping stone for me, and I'm excited to see what God has for my life. I'm so new to the 'real world,' it seems like my plans change daily."

Toccoa Falls College
Toccoa Falls, Georgia
2000 grad
Major: church music
Career: As the minister of music at a church in Pennsylvania, Scott oversees choirs, worship teams, and instrumental ensembles, as well as a roster of 15 pianists and organists. He also gets to sing. "I didn't expect all the paperwork," he says. "But I love working with people, and in that respect it's everything I expected." At Toccoa Falls, Scott performed with a school-sponsored group called Exaltation. The group had as many as 100 concerts each year, played all over the country, and even traveled to Ecuador. "That really prepared me for my job. It gave me the resources I needed in order to deal with all sorts of different settings. I learned flexibility." Scott says Toccoa Falls did more than prepare him for a career. "I learned so much from my professors there, especially about the Bible. When we studied the Crucifixion, it wasn't just teaching—the professor had tears in his eyes. You could see the passion there."

Moody Bible Institute
Chicago, Illinois
1998 grad
Major: urban ministry
Career: On Friday night, Lisa will drive a team of volunteers to Madison Avenue in the heart of Chicago. The team will spend the night ministering to the prostitutes who work there. It's what she does every Friday, as the director of the Salvage House. "We approach the women, share who we are, and try to get to know them," she says. "Most people are open to us; they sense a genuine care and concern." Lisa started the ministry while still in school at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. She partners with other local ministries to provide services—such as job training, housing, and drug rehab—to the women she meets. She says her experience at Moody helped prepare her for the Salvage House. "I learned a lot through my urban ministries classes. I got to talk to a lot of different people, and I sharpened my skills in evangelism. At Moody it's not like you're sheltered until you leave. You get to wrestle with real ministry while you're still in school."

Copyright © 2001 by the author or Christianity Today International/Campus Life magazine.
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