Gaining Experience on Campus

At Roger Williams, it's not just our academic courses or off-site internship programs that helps us prepare students for a successful life and career. With more than 75 clubs and organizations on campus, Roger Williams provides students ample opportunities to gain the vital skills employers seek without leaving campus. For Blair Carroll '13, now a senior graphic designer at Eataly, her experience with campus clubs and organizations, in concert with her major in graphic design communications, gave her skills ranging from project management and leadership to problem solving and teamwork that helped launch her into a successful designing career.

On campus, Carroll was part of the Campus Entertainment Network (CEN), Student Programs & Leadership and the Student Senate. At CEN, the student-run organization responsible for organizing events on campus, Carroll says there's an environment that's very relatable to the professional world. She cites the team mentality she learned there and the all-hands-on-deck approach of working on a project with helping to prepare her for the workforce.

“My classes taught me all the skills, but the Campus Entertainment Network taught me how to be a good employee."

Now a working professional, Carroll has found that employers are looking for well-rounded people who wear multiple hats and understand the strategic goals of a project. Along with the skills she learned in her courses and the experience and lessons she gained in internships, Carroll believes that was one of the most important things she learned at RWU.