CCU students prepare for life after graduation

When graduating senior Mike Amabile got the initial call from Amazon requesting an interview, he was pretty excited. When he was offered the job, it was a dream come true. Not even a graduate yet, and he had already scored a managerial position from one of the largest ecommerce companies in the world.

Amabile is one of 1,100 Coastal Carolina University students in the 2015 graduating class being honored at the May 9 commencement ceremony at Brooks Stadium. Not all of the students turning their tassles have secured jobs yet, so this marketing major from Long Island, N.Y., considers himself fortunate to be working for a Fortune 100 company that plans to train him and develop his skills.

Then he found out three other graduating seniors were also going to work for Amazon, and they’re all going to Florida as area managers, a real coup in this job-challenged economy.

“You have to be open to possibilities and be willing to relocate,” says the marketing graduate.

Graduating business seniors Tyler Van Moppes, Daquan Scott and Laura Resio have all received offers from Amazon, making them an unconventional success story of today’s graduates across the USA.

Van Moppes, an information systems major from Myrtle Beach, met with Amazon recruiters at a job fair this spring. After receiving his MBA in August, he will relocate to Tampa, Fla., to start at Amazon. He credits his success to constantly updating his resume and getting involved on campus during his undergraduate years.

“Constantly update and perfect your resume,” says Van Moppes. “Get involved in your undergraduate career, especially if your job experience during college is minimal. Gain as much interview experience as possible."

Marketing professor Michael Latta, associate dean for the Wall College, says six "top [business] students" received job offers from Amazon.

"I attribute their success to professional development encouraged in our courses and our PDAs. We stress business professional conduct and how to interview in their senior year and in graduate school."

Also, Latta says that getting employers to the campus to meet our students is key as "they are impressed by their skills, abilities and professional conduct."

Commencement exercises will be at 8:30 a.m., Saturday, May 9, on the newly installed teal turf at Brooks Stadium. Michael J. Gerson, a nationally syndicated political columnist and former aid to President George W. Bush, will give the address and will also receive the honorary degree, Doctor of Humane Letters.

Graduates and faculty on the field are reminded to wear flat shoes and not high heels that could damage the turf.