Preparing for Life After Graduation

Communicating clearly and accurately is essential in every profession. Those who can write well, from one-paragraph emails to multi-page reports, are more likely to convince others of their recommendations and build support needed for action. Through your regular course work, you'll develop strong writing skills you'll use throughout life.

Making persuasive presentations — to another individual or to a room full of people — is key to selling your ideas and yourself. Many courses at Roanoke require presentations; through them, you'll learn how to organize, design and give presentations with confidence — an advantage over peers who are anxious about public speaking.

While the world seems awash in information, we lack useful data and insight. At Roanoke, you'll learn to conduct research that tests hypotheses, uncovers new findings and develops ideas — all critical to strategic decision-making and the creation of new systems, products and processes.  

There are few situations in life where you don't work with others. Jobs, clubs, churches and causes all ask us to work together to get things done that we can't do alone. At Roanoke, you'll have many opportunities to learn how to work effectively with others, from group projects in classes to participation in clubs and organizations. You'll learn how to organize projects, share work, deal with different personalities and contribute to a common goal. 

Successful organizations are run by people at every level who know how to lead. At Roanoke, we encourage everyone to take on leadership roles and learn the basics of team leadership. You'll develop the style of leadership that suits you best. You'll have many chances to lead through class projects, social events, organizations, athletic teams and service work, where you'll get hands-on experience organizing, managing and motivating teams of people.