“What are you doing after graduation?”
It seems that seniors across the globe must prepare to answer this question nearly a million times before walking across the stage and receiving their diplomas.
Calling, career, creativity — these are not just ideas that senior Olivia Heinen encounters in her job as lead graphic designer for the Calling and Career Office (CCO) on campus, but also as she considers what she might want to pursue following graduation from Taylor this spring.
Most Taylor students, by the time they’ve become seniors, have heard advertised the opportunity to apply for the Orr Fellowship, a community of young college graduates beginning careers with Indianapolis companies.
Heinen remembers the offer came through her inbox more than once.
Orr’s mission, “to create the premier post-undergraduate experience in the nation,” according to their website, involves pairing students with Indianapolis professionals who want to bring recent graduate talent to their companies.
Accepted students, after progressing through the application process to the point where they accept an offer from an Indianapolis company connected with Orr, commit to living in the Indy area for two years while a part of the fellowship.
During the two years, fellows engage in monthly Orr community events and are connected with over 500 Orr Fellowship alumni.
As a graphic art major with creative career ambitions, Heinen at first wasn’t sure that Orr, which she perceived as typically catering to business and entrepreneurial-minded students, was something she was fit for.
“(I) was, at the same time, praying about where God was calling me,” Heinen said. “And then every time I kept getting those persistent emails, it was like a little nudge, like maybe I should go for it.”
She sent in her application the night before the deadline.
If it wasn’t meant to be, Heinen trusted that the process would at least provide her with good interview experience — it couldn’t hurt.
As it turns out, this decision proved to be more than just a shot in the dark for Heinen.
After interviewing, Heinen was offered a graphic design position with a company called JDA Worldwide, which offers creative, public relations, marketing and analytics services. The job description wasn’t the only thing that initially attracted Heinen to the role, however.
“They’re a Christian company, which is really important to me,” Heinen said.
She felt that the position was an opportunity to exercise her skills in an environment where her values would be supported and she could be passionate about her work.
What’s more, the two JDA representatives that interviewed Heinen on finalist day were the same two that she had previously connected with at the CCO’s internship and career fair.
Heinen was impressed with JDA’s art director when he asked her to talk about design and what inspires her. This felt like a green flag and assured her that JDA would be a great fit for her to flourish creatively, she said.
“I know that the Orr Fellowship can have a reputation of being very business-oriented, and I didn’t know how I would fit into that as a creative, but through every step of the process, every interview and every event, I just really presented myself as, ‘I’m a graphic designer, this is what I do,’ and kind of like, ‘take it or leave it,’” Heinen said.
Needless to say, Heinen was thrilled to accept the job offer.
In considering what has been most profitable to her during her Taylor career, Heinen draws on the value of learning to develop thick skin while being critiqued in art classes and growing in relationships with her professors.
Additionally, the bulk of what is featured in Heinen’s portfolio are design projects she was commissioned to complete for the CCO.
“The creative freedom and the encouragement and just all of those things that I get from the office has been so huge in my development as a graphic designer,” she said.
Heinen says she has known since her junior year of high school that she wanted to be a graphic designer.
This was when she took an advanced design class where she learned to navigate programs like Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator.
“I just fell in love with it and couldn’t believe people get to do this for their jobs,” she said.
In her position with JDA, Heinen will work in person with the team three days a week, and two days remote.
Though her commitment to JDA through the Orr Fellowship will last two years, Heinen said she could envision herself staying with the company longer.
Ultimately, Heinen is grateful for the ways the Lord has orchestrated thus far.
“Seeing his hand in the whole process has been really cool,” she said.
Though she had her doubts that she would find her dream job through Orr, Heinen remains confident that this opportunity was a direct result of God’s providence, especially in leading her to apply on a whim.
She encourages creatives like her to stand firm in what they offer and what they’re looking for in their approach to the job search process.
“Know who you are and what kind of job that you want to do and where God is calling you, and don’t try to blend into the business type role if that’s not who you are,” Heinen said. “God will guide you to where you’re supposed to be.”
