Students connected with recruiters and learned more about graduate school opportunities during Graduate School Information Week put on by the Office of Career Development.

The week’s ten events included presentations about specific graduate school programs, a Graduate School Expo and a GRE test prep course presented by Kaplan.

“It is an opportunity for students to think of their grad school options and explore specific programs,” said Haley Parsons, student career specialist in Career Development.

Most of the presenters are Linfield alumni who have experience in each of the fields featured during the week.

The main event of the week was the Graduate School Expo on Wednesday afternoon, which had representatives from 25 universities representing over 100 programs.

The 2-hour expo allowed students to learn more about the programs they are interested in, as well as creating connections with recruiters which will be beneficial when they are applying to different programs.

“Professional connections will always serve you whether it’s now or in five years,” said Donna Montoya, Assistant Director of Career Development.

There were also presentations on getting a master’s degree in social work and medical school through Career Development’s Lunch on Us program.

This program provides students with the opportunity to learn more about the program in a less formal setting over lunch.

The medical schools lunch was the first event of the week and was hosted by Tyler Light ’08 who majored in Biology and is a medical student at OHSU. The room was full with 15 students learning what it takes to get in and get through medical school.

“It’s never too early to start because just like with your undergrad degree, it requires a lot of planning,” said Parsons.

Yessica Manuel ’07 who majored in Sociology and now works as a mental health therapist at Western Conexiones presented about master’s in social work programs on Thursday.

There were also presentations on getting ready for grad school in various areas of study such as management, arts and humanities and law school. These presentations went more in depth about how to prepare to apply for a program in that specific area.

The management presentation involved three alumni as well as Matt Alex, Assistant Director of Recruitment at Willamette MBA and Daniel Hallak from Pacific University who works in professional development.

The Getting Ready for Law School panel and mock class were led by representatives from Willamette Law as well as four Linfield alumni who went to law school or are currently enrolled.

The students who attended this panel were able to make connections with the representatives as well as alums who are working as lawyers.

“Anytime anyone can make a connection in the professional sense it can help them in the future,” said Montoya.

Students interested in STEM programs participated in a STEM Grad School Panel that was a part of the Taylor Series on Tuesday.

There was also a social media campaign where students could take a picture with one of the signs placed around campus and post it on social media using the grad school week hashtag to be entered to win a prize.

Montoya says that it is important for students of all grade levels to think about graduate school.

First and second-year students can benefit from the information sessions because the sessions will help them know what steps to take in order to be eligible for graduate school.

“There are certain things they can do to set them up for success as freshman and sophomores,” said Montoya.

Graduate School Information Week is held every year through the Office of Career Development.