A person with short curly hair, wearing headphones and a black shirt, is seated at a sound mixing console in a dimly lit control room. The individual appears to be operating the equipment, with hands on the console and various buttons and sliders visible. The background shows part of the control room with additional equipment and ambient lighting.

How OSU's hands-on opportunities shape career-ready graduates

Wednesday, May 14, 2025

Media Contact: Mack Burke | Associate Director of Media Relations | 405-744-5540 | editor@okstate.edu

At Oklahoma State University, learning extends beyond the classroom.

OSU faculty and staff strive to provide hands-on experiences and leadership opportunities that prepare students for success, whether it’s through student employment opportunities as graduate assistants or interns to participating in student organizations.

These opportunities aren’t one-size-fits-all, either. In fact, the university fosters an environment where students can individually engage in on-campus work to explore their passions while gaining tools, connections and real-world skills that make them stand out in the job market.

No matter a student’s interest — whether agriculture, theatre, hospitality, health or business — OSU’s commitment to student success remains the same.

A woman with long curly blonde hair, wearing a black outfit, is sitting on a chair and holding a document. She is showing the document to a man with short curly black hair, wearing a black and white checkered shirt. They are in an office setting with metal shelves in the background containing various items such as binders and containers. — Grace White meets with OSU student-athletes one-on-one to provide guidance on nutrition management and education.

Mentorship that Matters

Grace White, an Indiana native and former collegiate cross-country runner, is pursuing her Ph.D. in nutrition and dietetics.

White came to OSU for the opportunity to grow professionally and develop her resumé by learning through research in a hands-on environment.

“I don’t want to just be in a lab all day,” White said. “I love actually interacting with the people that you’re hoping to make a difference in their lives at some point and having more of that direct impact.”

As a graduate assistant, White creates programs to set up soon-to-be graduates — like collegiate student-athletes — with nutrition courses to transition them from being athletes with a tailored diet to fending for themselves in the real world.

She is also a performance dietitian for OSU’s nationally ranked track and field, cross-country, and golf programs, meeting with athletes one-on-one, providing group education and managing athlete fueling stations. White also serves as a hub team member for the Project ECHO Strength and Conditioning line in collaboration with the Human Performance and Nutrition Research Institution.

Dr. Jill Joyce, assistant professor of public health nutrition in the Department of Nutritional Sciences, serves as White’s advisor, helping provide experiential learning experiences and industry connections to guide her and other students’ career paths.

“We have so many internship rotations or jobs on campus where we can get students exactly what they want,” Joyce said. “We can tailor and get them what they need, and they’ll leave here with an insanely stacked resume.”

A nationally recognized mentor for students, Joyce takes an individualized approach to helping students achieve their dreams.

White’s experience, combined with her education, will make her extremely appealing to future employers once she graduates, Joyce said.

“For Grace to get hired as a dietitian at a D1 school— that’s huge. Those jobs are not easy to get,” Joyce said. “... The fact that she went straight out of her master’s into a graduate assistant role where she is the dietitian, that’s incredible. How many people get to roll straight out of their master’s and do that? Not many. There are really cool opportunities here that our students get to step into, and if they weren’t at OSU, they wouldn’t get to as easily roll into them like that.”

Learning Together, Succeeding Together

A man is standing in a workshop holding a large black rocket with the word 'Cowboy' written on it in orange. The workshop has wooden workbenches, tools, and various equipment. An American flag and a poster with Pistol Pete are visible on the wall behind the person. — Paxton Bradford serves as president of Space Cowboys where he gains hands-on experience in rocketry and engineering outside the classroom.

Hailing from Bartlesville, Oklahoma, mechanical and aerospace engineering major Paxton Bradford yearned for opportunities outside his four-wall classroom and stacks of homework. Shortly after arriving on campus, Bradford became involved with projects at the Oklahoma Aerospace Institute for Research and Education.

His involvement sparked his interest in space and gave Bradford a competitive edge in the job market. From launching high-altitude balloons and capturing data to connecting with industry leaders, he’s gained firsthand experience. Learning from experts, he understands each company’s focus and can determine the best fit for his career aspirations.

“I’m really interested in the space industry, so I’ve tried to tailor what I do at OAIRE to that, and it’s been really good because they’ve definitely helped me steer my work there in the direction that I want to go after college,” Bradford said.

Outside of class, Bradford is the president of Space Cowboys — a collaborative club between Cowboy Rocket Works, High Altitude Ballooning, Micro-G NExT and CubeSat — where he is engaged as the Rocket Works chief engineer.

“The reason that I went after the club aspect, even though I already had the work experience, was it’s good to work in these higher-up organizations, like OAIRE, that know what they’re doing, but it’s also good to really throw yourself into a design process where you have no idea what you’re doing because it forces you to work through that whole process yourself as kind of the management instead of having someone else helping you,” Bradford said. “That’s been a great resource for me to feel that I’m really applying myself as an engineer in college. And I think it pairs very well with the work we do at OAIRE.”

Bradford believes his hands-on learning experiences will set him apart in the job market, equipping him with industry skills and leadership experience. His campus involvement also helped bolster his education.

“It’s not only allowed me to set myself apart resume-wise in my career search, but it’s made it easier to get through the hard classes and all the difficult college stuff that happens because I get to work with people who are just as interested in the things that I’m interested in,” Bradford said. “It’s showing you the light at the end of the tunnel, that there’s something you get through all this hard, rigorous coursework, and that’s hopefully a good paying job that you really enjoy at the end of it.”

A man is standing in front of a wall with multiple vertical light tubes emitting purple and blue light. He is wearing a black shirt and pants, with arms resting on the railing behind them and legs crossed at the ankles. The background features an array of illuminated tubes creating a visually striking effect — Thess Holloway plans to use his experience from The McKnight Center to create an educational program for those interested in the music industry and live entertainment.

Opening Doors to Opportunity

At The McKnight Center for the Performing Arts, production manager Chrissi McCullough gives students like Thess Holloway a first-class experience in live entertainment.

As a stagehand, Holloway, a theatre design and music industry major from Arkansas, is heavily involved in the technical setup of lighting, audio, wardrobe and props for the professional shows The McKnight Center brings in.

“It’s great getting to see people in your profession,” Holloway said. “In my case, getting to meet with them and ask some questions, like, how long have you been touring for? What’s the touring industry like? Do you recommend any opportunities? We get to learn little bits and pieces of knowledge, and they’re also just good people to talk to, and, it’s great getting to know who is working in your industry.”

To experience these opportunities off campus, a student previously had to travel to Oklahoma City or Tulsa, McCullough said.

The hands-on experience from The McKnight Center has taught Holloway techniques and skills that supplement what he’s learned in a classroom, which he feels has prepared him to be an industry professional.

“What’s great about McKnight is that as stage techs, we are trained and learn how to do multiple different areas of specialties,” Holloway said. “I know how to hang and focus lights properly, how to design programs and lighting boards. Right now, I’m big into sound, and so I’m getting to learn certain training on the soundboard and learn their system.”

In a world where some entry-level positions still require a bit of experience, McCullough prefers putting students in positions to gain technical skills and expertise in the management aspect of live entertainment, hopefully opening doors to career opportunities.

“I have no requirements. It’s all on-the-job learning,” McCullough said. “By the time they graduate, they will be able to put on their resume that they know theatrical lighting, that they have experience with theatrical sound and props and carpentry and all of that.

“If they truly take advantage of the opportunity here, they will leave here after they graduate with really developed skills to be able to go into this professionally.”

Photos By: Gary Lawson and Ellie Piper

Story By: Sydney Trainor | STATE Magazine