It’s not often a student graduates from college and lands the “dream job.” However, that’s exactly what happened to Brenna Warrick. Warrick walked across the stage in December 2024 with a BBA in Marketing, and kept right on walking into her first job with Merck Pharmaceuticals in January of 2025. It wasn’t luck that helped her earn that first job. Instead, it was her hard work along with some help from the Career Services at SAU.
“They put me in contact with the right people at the right time,” said Warrick, who started as a Chronic Care Sales Representative out of Tulsa, Okla., for Merck Pharmaceuticals. She is currently visiting clinics and hospitals about a drug that helps patients with worsening chronic heart failure.
“I learned early on in my college career that no one was going to advocate for me,” said Warrick, who began learning all she could from Career Services after helping with an Etiquette Dinner during her freshman year. “I knew I had to be willing to ask for help.”
The Etiquette Dinner is just one of the opportunities offered by Career Services, which is located in the Bruce Center on the SAU campus. Other events include career fairs in the fall and spring, guidance with writing resumes and cover letters, mock interviews, and the Mentorship Program, called AIM – Alumni Inspiring Muleriders. The program, which started in the fall of 2023, matches students and recent graduates with SAU alumni in the same career field. It is open to current students as well as those who graduated within the previous five years.
“The response from students has been great,” said Anne Sands, director of Career Services. The program currently has 21 alumni serving as mentors to students and recent graduates.
Warrick, a 2021 graduate of Emerson High School, took advantage of AIM, and that helped her on her current career path. She was matched with Melinda Henry, a 2001 graduate of SAU and associate director of sales at Merck. Henry is no longer just Warrick’s mentor, she is also Warrick’s boss.
“The mentorship program is a valuable experience for our students,” said Sands. “It allows them to see someone who was where they are now.”
Another valuable resource offered to students is the Career Closet, which provides professional attire for students interviewing for jobs and internships. Students can choose two full outfits per year at no cost. The Career Closet is 100 percent donor-based, and both alumni and members of the community are encouraged to donate.
Career Services helps students not only land jobs, but also helps them learn about and apply for internships in their career field.
Kaylie Tipton, who graduated in December with degrees in Computer Science – Gaming Science and in art with Game Animation and Design, took advantage of the internship opportunity. She applied for an internship with Murphy USA for the summer of 2023. After failing to land that job, Tipton visited Sands at the Career Services office.
“I did a lot of mock interviews. I think that helped me get the internship,” said Tipton, a 2019 graduate of Arkansas High in Texarkana. After receiving help with interviews and her resume, she again applied for and received that same internship. That summer and fall part-time job with Murphy USA has now turned into her first full-time job with the company.
She only wishes she had started using Career Services sooner. As part of a recent class, she was asked if she could go back in time, what would she tell herself as a freshman.
“I said I would tell myself about Career Services and the Career Closet,” said Tipton.
