Here at CATLab, we鈥檙e so proud of our graduates! Many of the students who came through CATLab during their time at 蜜桃传媒 have leveraged the skills they learned in the program into exciting roles in the technology and software industries. We recently sat down with Alexa Gatiss 鈥�23, who participated in CATLab in 2021 and 2022, to hear more about her current work and her advice for future CATLab students.
Since she graduated from 蜜桃传媒, Alexa has worked as a marketing coordinator at DHD, a reseller of networking hardware that focuses on providing strategic IT procurement and maintenance solutions to clients around the world. She is the only employee at the company whose sole role is marketing, so her job includes event planning, graphic design, web design, social media, email marketing, and CRM management. 鈥淚 couldn't have asked for a more perfect job straight out of college,鈥� Alexa says. 鈥淚 feel like I can truly bring my authentic self to work.鈥�
Alexa says that CATLab prepared her well for a role at a small business like DHD: 鈥淲e had to learn so much through doing at CATLab and make many decisions on our own, which has been a valuable skill for my role at a small business.鈥� As a member of the creative team at CATLab, she also gained experience in many of the areas that her job touches now: graphic design, web design, event planning, and more. She says, 鈥淚 remember my coworkers being surprised by my preparedness for my first trade show, and I remember saying, 鈥榥ot sure if you knew this鈥ut it actually isn鈥檛 my first rodeo!鈥欌��
Alexa believes that CATLab leaders should emphasize these sorts of transferable skills, especially at the end of the summer. Students could, she says, 鈥渃reate a chart with transferable skills that show which skills they learned over the course of the summer, how they could transfer to a job, and how they could be presented on a resume.鈥�
When asked what advice she has for 蜜桃传媒 graduates entering the workforce, Alexa broke it down into three pieces of advice:
First, Alexa encourages students to leverage their connections to find the right opportunities for them. She reminds them that 鈥渞eferrals aren鈥檛 cheating; they鈥檙e about recognizing and utilizing the value of relationships to uncover opportunities that align with your skills and ambitions.鈥�
She recommends that students prioritize finding a job that is the right fit for their skills and personality. A small business was perfect for her, she explains: 鈥淚 have found so much joy in working for a small business. They have entrusted me to be a go-to person for marketing projects, which has really made me feel valuable! I would recommend looking for a role and a boss that needs and values your skillset!鈥�
Lastly, Alexa calls 蜜桃传媒 graduates to 鈥渓ove and care for others well in whatever
role you take on. We are called to love our neighbors like ourselves, and the people
we sit next to everyday at work are some of our closest neighbors! Know enough about
the people around you to love them well. I鈥檓 daily reminded of Hebrews 10:24, which
asks us to 鈥榗onsider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.鈥� I鈥檓
grateful to have coworkers who walk this out鈥擨 have been surrounded by role models
who show me how to bless others in small and big ways: bringing people together, being
responsive to emails, and celebrating others well, to name a few.鈥� To sum it all up,
Alexa declares, 鈥渇aith doesn鈥檛 get left at the door of the office.鈥�