Ouachita Baptist University’s Career & Calling office helped set students up for success
this week through a series of events known as Career & Calling Week.
The week-long focus began in 2023 to get students thinking about jobs and further
education opportunities during the fall semester. This year’s offerings ranged from
resume-building workshops to a professional wear design competition to networking
opportunities with businesses, graduate schools and seminaries.
“Students are more than just the jobs they’re going to do in the future,” Adam Wheat,
director of Career & Calling, said. “But research still shows the No. 1 reason why
students come to college is to get a job. We know that it’s on their minds, yet because
it feels like such a big decision with multiple factors pressing in, it becomes something
that is hard for them to approach.”
“The power of Career & Calling Week is in these small, short events that are happening
each day,” Wheat continued. “Students can come to multiple events, and they’re now
considering that future in smaller portions rather than as this big, overwhelming
decision.”
Career & Calling Week events, such as Friday’s Seminary Day (pictured), provided students
with networking and development opportunities.
This year’s edition introduced a new element incorporating buttons worn by faculty
and staff with the words “Ask me about my Career & Calling.” The initiative builds
off Meaningful Work Mondays, a series of gatherings where faculty and staff talk about
the purpose behind their work and how that connects with other aspects of their lives.
“We’re inviting students to join that ongoing conversation,” Wheat said. “The buttons
are a way for students to be able to identify people who are willing to have that
chat with them.”
One of the ways students could engage in the conversation was Monday’s “What’s My
Path” panel with faculty and staff. Olivia Taylor, a senior business administration
major with double emphases in entrepreneurship and management from Benton, Arkansas,
identified the discussion as a personal highlight.
“It was very insightful,” Taylor said. “I heard perspectives that I hadn’t really
thought about, and it gave me a different way of looking at my calling. I’ve been
pretty grounded in what my calling is, but it was good to see a different side of
it that I wasn’t fully aware of.”
Diana Taylor, a senior history and political science double major from Benton, Arkansas,
also saw great value in Wednesday’s Fall Networking Expo.
“For people who come from small communities or who are first-generation college students,
they don’t necessarily know where to go from here,” she said. “Having those opportunities
to connect with professionals and programs is a big deal.”
Though Career & Calling Week 2025 is now complete, Wheat and his team continue to
offer resources to Ouachita students and alumni on a year-round basis.
“We love to help people understand themselves better and how their unique callings
and personalities should impact their decisions,” Wheat said. “We’re always excited
to help both current and past students find their next step.”
Career & Calling will continue its fall schedule of activities with its invitation-only
Test Kitchen on Tuesday, November 18.
Ouachita Baptist University has a 99% job or grad school placement rate and was recently
named the Best Small College in Arkansas by Niche.com. For more information on Career
& Calling events and services, visit obu.edu/career or contact the Career & Calling
office at [email protected] or 870-245-5593.