Student Success: Jacob Castle
From part-time to full-time, Jacob Castle has certainly gotten the full experience of everything Education at Work has to offer.
“I’m the first in my family to go to a four-year college, my program was four and a half years,” Jacob says. “It just flew by. But once I finally graduated, it felt like a huge relief. Like all that hard work paying off.”
Jacob, who graduated in December 2020 from Northern Kentucky University, started working full-time with EAW shortly after the new year. Jacob currently has a position in Corporate Communications and works as EAW’s Graphic Designer.
Jacob earned his bachelor's of fine arts in visual communication design from NKU, working for EAW for the past two years as a part-time graphic designer. Jacob has contributed several designs for EAW’s internal flyers and announcements, presentations, social media posts, and more.
He says he’s earned more than $13,000 in tuition assistance during his time with EAW, in addition to hourly wages, which helped him complete his degree with almost no student debt.
“That’s one thing I love about EAW,” Jacob says. “How they work with me around my classes, then in the summer I can pick up more hours to help pay for school.”
Thanks to a referral from a friend, Jacob found a position at EAW as a sophomore in college, and was able to gain work experience for his field while also contributing to the organization.
With every job, responsibilities will shift once part-time status changes to full-time. That was Jacob’s experience, in which his responsibilities from graphic designer shifted to include corporate communications and other marketing responsibilities.
“As a full-time designer on staff, I have a lot more time, and I can take on more projects every week,” Jacob says. “My role has evolved into more of a leadership role where I can tackle projects I could not have before.”
Jacob also copy-edits material for corporate-level communications.
“At the time, I was just looking for more experience as a designer, I was looking for people with more experience to kind of guide me and teach me more about workflow. Plus, I think working with a larger team with a bunch of different departments helps me develop as a designer more. I’ve actually recommended a lot of friends here.”
Jacob says he’s, “happy to finally have a full-time design career where I get to contribute to a great mission, while having stability to get my adult life started.”
Jacob’s design portfolio is available at jacobcastle.com.
Founded in 2012, Education at Work (EAW) is a national work-based learning nonprofit that helps students graduate with less debt and more skills, connections, and confidence by connecting them with flexible, paid employment opportunities. We help high-achieving college students gain the career-ready skills and financial stability needed to succeed after graduation. Our campus-based “learn and earn” model generates career outcomes for students, provides employers with a skilled workforce to address early talent needs, and helps colleges boost affordability while improving student success. We are proud that success stories like Jacob’s are evidence of the positive impact our work-based learning model is having on students. If you are a student interested in applying for a position at EAW, have questions, or want more information, please contact us.