Four years ago, April Dant went to the U.S. Veterans Affairs office to change her address. What started as a quick trip wound up becoming a complete 180-degree life change for Dant, now a junior Accounting major at UNC Greensboro’s Bryan School of Business and Economics.
Until that fateful day, Dant knew herself as a wife, a mother of three, and a U.S. Army veteran. Soon, she’ll be able to add a career in accounting to that already impressive list.
“I never really considered college, but when the people at the VA told me I’d get paid to go, I thought ‘Why not?’ What I wasn’t expecting was to land a job thanks to a class assignment,” Dant said.
One of her tasks in her BUS 216: Blueprint for Personal and Professional Development class was to craft a resume and post it to Indeed.com. Dant did as she was told, but ended up hitting “apply” on a job listing from the American Children’s Home – a foster care agency that’s been based in North Carolina for nearly a century.
Deciding to run with the idea, Dant used another nugget of knowledge from the course and followed up via phone call with American Children’s Home a few days later to ensure her application was received.
“They were so impressed that I actually called them on the phone,” she said. “I didn’t know I made such an impression, but that made such a big difference and made me more desirable as an employee to take the initiative.”
About 10 minutes after her phone call, the American Children’s Home reached back out to Dant and offered her an interview. Not even 12 hours later, she had the job.
BUS 216 is one of the four courses that make up the Bryan School’s Blueprint Series. The series is required for all Bryan undergraduate students, and provides students with the real-world employability skills to help them navigate the ever changing job market. Throughout the series, students learn how to create a proper resume, interact with employers, craft cover letters and so much more.
“When I started the class, I really thought it was going to be easy breezy. I thought I’d hit the nail on the head and already knew everything I needed to know about the job market,” Dant said. “I truly didn’t think I’d take so much away from it, but I really have.”
Dant recently began the onboarding process for an administrative role for American Children’s Home, which will eventually lead to an accounting role. She’ll continue to finish up her bachelor’s online while working full-time, and American Children’s Home has also offered full-time childcare for Dant’s little ones – an amenity that’s made all of the difference for her.
Dant credits the Blueprint Series for helping her acquire the tools to find a job, but she credits the Bryan School as a whole for helping her find herself.
“This whole experience has changed my mindset completely about college and showed me that I can do more than just be a stay-at-home mom,” Dant said. “I love that I get to still be at home with my kids while learning who I am as a person, too.”
