Waxahachie, TX

September 12, 2018 | Mikayla Heldt

Life after college can be overwhelming for many young adults. Fortunately, for Kristin Stringer, she feels a little more prepared to take on the post-graduation challenges because of her time studying at Southwestern Assemblies of God University (SAGU) .

“It’s been cool to see the things that I’ve learned over the past four years click into place while I’m on the job,” Stringer says.

Stringer, who graduated with a degree in Business Administration this past spring, currently works at PulteGroup , a home construction company, as Assistant Field Manager.

“I’m on my way to becoming a ‘builder’, or field manager of home construction in one of Pulte’s many housing development communities – currently at the Winn Ridge Centex Community in Aubrey, Texas,” she says.

Previously, Stringer had interned at G Farms in Forney, Texas – a cowpooling company that sells and delivers grass-fed beef by the quarter.

For the first half of her day, she would get up early and bale hay for the cows. Then, later in the day she worked on sales, which included “learning the strategic way to talk to someone on the phone, being able to sell them a certain type of product, and learning the specific target market that we’re trying to reach.”

Stringer credits the business department for getting her ready for a real job, specifically her professors, Dr. Shelly Zaldivar and Dr. Christi Sanders.

“The business department has been very helpful to me. They don’t just set us up for business, but life in general.”

Her four years on the softball team were also crucial in molding her character and helping her work better with people.

“I was the captain the last two years, and I definitely learned to problem solve and work through other people’s problems and how to encourage them,” she says.

Along with academics and athletics, Career Services at SAGU played a large role in helping Stringer get her internship. The day before she applied at G Farms, she decided to sit down and have someone from Career Services help her perfect her resume.

“He just looked through all that with me and told me a little bit about how they’re going to look at a resume and what you need to put on it for the certain type of job you’re getting,” she says.

After applying, Stringer received a phone call a couple days later and got the job. Her boss was thoroughly impressed with the resume and said it was one of the best he had ever seen.

“Even if you don’t know what you’re doing, you still need to get a general resume together and a general idea of what you might do,” Stringer says.

Stringer advises everyone attending SAGU to establish relationships with professors and faculty and to get help from Career Services as often as they can.

“God works in awesome ways, He’s going to put your life together and He’s going to make things fall into place as long as you’re making sure you’re staying on track,” she says.

Stringer looks forward to using the knowledge and skills that she acquired from her time at SAGU.

“I’m…so excited and ready to put my degree and skills to work in a way I never expected: with the computer and my hands.”

Southwestern Assemblies of God University is a private, Christian university located 30 minutes south of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex in Waxahachie, Texas. The university was established in 1927, and now offers more than 70 associate, bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees on campus or online. More information is available at www.sagu.edu