Scarlet Eakins earned a Bachelor of Arts in Business Technology Administration in December 2014. Learn more about her path below.

Where do you currently work?

RELI Group, Inc.

What is your job title?

Business Development Specialist

Location of the Organization/School (City, State)

Catonsville, MD

Which of the following resources did you use to pursue your after graduation plans?

Career Center, Alex. Brown Center for Entrepreneurship

How did you obtain your job position?

During the fall 2014 semester I completed 120 internship hours at RELI Group through the Shattuck Family Internship Program. When I graduated I was offered the opportunity to remain at RELI Group.

What is the name of your graduate program?

B.A. in Business Technology Administration with a Certificate in Web Development

Before graduating from UMBC, what steps should students take to prepare themselves for the workplace/graduate school?

Take the time to pursue hobbies and figure out what you enjoy doing. A lot of people don't realize that they can often find a way to apply their skills in some way that makes them money!

What advice would you give to students who are creating their after graduation plan?

The government is always spending money on something: check out companies that are involved in federal contracting. Look up "NAICS" online and find codes that match what you're into. Now you can find businesses where you want to live that provide those services to the government. You don't actually work for the government and most companies pay well with great benefits.

Prior to your position, did you participate in any internships or volunteer experience? If so, please elaborate.

I almost graduated without doing any internships, but I got an email about a paid internship that would let me choose a start-up to work at in order to give me an inside peek at growing a business. I co-own InSource, a start-up developed by UMBC graduates, so I completed the application. RELI Group hires people with technical skills to work on IT projects for the federal government. I started as a Business Development Intern and literally started from scratch knowledge-wise - I'd never even heard of BD. It was a learning experience, and still is. Having an internship definitely showed me some more fields I can get into with a college degree.

Is there anything else you would like to share with current UMBC students?

If you have a gap between graduating and getting a job, develop new or existing skills or work on a project that you can put on your resume and tell a prospective employer about.

Interested in sharing your post-graduation plans? UMBC seniors/undergraduate and graduate students, you can fill out the form here!

Also, make sure to follow the Career Center on Twitter and Facebook! #UMBCgrad