My name is Josue Garcia. I am an international student from Mexico, and I recently graduated from the graphic design program. Being here at Oakland gives you a lot of opportunities to get involved both on campus, and within the industry. They give you chances to do internships, there's a lot of roles in different student organizations that you can take that let you experience a little bit of what the outside world might have in store for you.

Mentoring Josue was a real pleasure. I got to watch him blossom with technical prowess in graphic design. I challenged him with designing for our exhibition. He got to really develop soft skills that aren't typically offered to students within the context of a classroom.

Thanks to my involvement with Graphix OU, I was able to secure an on campus job as a part of a marketing team, which gave me the opportunity to apply the things that I had learned in the classroom into the real world. How to meet deadlines, receiving and implementing feedback, just overall working towards a bigger goal as a part of the team.

I think that the most important three non-technical skills that you can learn for anyone is time management, organization, and communication.

Experiential learning affords students the ability to develop professional skills, and as it relates to graphic design, they're able to develop portfolios, write resumes, and communicate their value to potential employers in the future.

I put myself out there, and I interviewed with Siser North America,and I am the video production intern.

By getting involved in campus activities, joining student organizations, connecting with the Career in Life Design Center, these make you a more well rounded and competitive applicant when the time comes to apply for jobs.