By Jeremy Handel

College is a place for students to grow, learn, and develop into working adults. Some enter college knowing exactly what path they want to pursue. Some rely on college to show them their path. And others, like recent Spartanburg Methodist College graduate Lexi Cobb, start with a future in mind only to find a new career through their college experience.

“I am so thankful that I decided to attend SMC for college; it really helped me grow as an individual and as a student,” Cobb said of her experience at SMC. She was excited and grateful to finish her bachelor’s degree at the College.

But that wasn’t the original plan for Lexi. She planned to attend SMC for two years to get her associate degree and adjust to college life before moving on to a four-year university. Her experience at the College and the addition of bachelor’s degrees changed her plans and her future.

Lexi’s mother, Leslie Cobb, said she noticed the evolution more and more throughout Lexi’s time at SMC, saying that her daughter became more confident and presented herself more professionally when it came to pursuing internships and eventually a career.

Cobb’s original career plan was to pursue a business degree and a career in human resources. But her experience in SMC’s Camak Core professional development program led her down a different path. She credits these courses and her professors for leading her to an opportunity that opened her eyes to a career in finance, which she secured with an internship at Gragg Financial.

Cobb said the things she learned in her Camak Core courses gave her the confidence not only to pursue an internship with Gragg Financial, but they also taught her key strategies in presenting her strengths in the interview as well as critical software and technology tools that would apply directly to the position.

“My favorite courses were applied technology, professional communications, and my business classes,” she said. “Professor (Victoria) Novak taught me so many great things that I use in my job at Gragg Financial today.”

She originally reached out to the company to inquire about a new program they were starting called intern-to-perm. The program placed college students in an internship with the company that would lead to an offer for a permanent position upon graduation if they performed well.

Bryon Gragg, Jr., managing partner at Gragg Financial, said Lexi’s grasp of the technical aspects of the internship was important, but it was her confidence and professional manner that really helped her get the position. Lexi credits this success to the lessons she learned in her Camak Core courses.

“The Camak Core helps you develop new skills for your future career,” she said. “Most colleges don’t have professional development as a required part of your degree. I am so thankful that SMC has this program that prepared me for the real world.”

After graduating this spring, Cobb became a full-time employee at Gragg Financial and believes that the Camak Core professional development program was the difference maker for her.