For Alex Barcus, the relationships and connections made during her time at Southwest
Baptist University have made all the difference for her as she pursues God’s calling
for her life.
Alex first learned about SBU through her older sister, Alyssa, who received a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from SBU. Alyssa was so passionate about SBU and praised how great the professors and students were, that Alex knew she had to check out SBU for herself.
Alex says she was then “sold” on SBU when she met Dr. Tim DeClue, chair of the department of computer and information sciences. Dr. DeClue’s contagious enthusiasm and the program’s 100 percent job placement rate for 10 straight years caught Alex’s attention. This impressive statistic proved true for Alex when she received her first job offer in November – six months before graduation!
Receiving multiple job offers so far in advance of her graduation is proof of the ways Alex’s professors invested in her personally. Dr. DeClue helped connect Alex to a local internship opportunity while she was just a sophomore, and another faculty member, Dr. Jeff Kimball, personally encouraged Alex to apply for the job she now holds as a software engineer for the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.
“Not only did he encourage me to apply,” Alex said, “but Dr. Kimball took it upon himself to set up an interview for me during a career fair with an employee from the bank.”
In fact, regular career fairs hosted at SBU were very influential in Alex’s college experience from her very first year. The computer and information science department requires their students, even freshmen, to attend their annual career fairs, which showcase a variety of businesses in the technology field.
“Throughout my time at SBU, I attended a total of eight different career fairs at SBU, which gave me the opportunity to not only work on my professionalism and communication skills, but also network with numerous companies while at SBU,” Alex recalls. “It was at the fall career fair of my senior year that I met with an alum from SBU who came to recruit students for the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.”
Alex credits her SBU faculty for establishing these connections and networking opportunities that have allowed her to achieve her goals and realize her dream of being a software engineer.
“All of my professors knew me by name and, not only did they know my name, but they also knew what my aspirations were for life after college,” Alex is quick to share about her SBU faculty. “SBU faculty’s open-door policy allowed me to obtain extra help with projects, job advice and encouragement.”
Now, Alex is paying it forward by staying connected to her alma mater. She often is now the recruiter behind the table at SBU career fairs enabling more SBU students to have internship and job opportunities at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City and has helped advise current students on various projects.
“Even though I am no longer a student at SBU, I now have the opportunity to stay connected. For example, I have worked with a computer information science senior project team that developed an internal application for the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City,” Alex said. “I am extremely grateful for my education from SBU.”