Gowanda Central High School alumnus Dr. Jim Thrasher leads Grove City College to national ranking

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Dr. Jim Thrasher

GROVE CITY, PA (09/05/2012)(readMedia)-- Led by Director of Career Services Dr. Jim Thrasher, a 1976 graduate of Gowanda Central High School, the Grove City College Career Services Office recently was ranked No. 12 in the nation by The Princeton Review for the "Best Career/Job Placement Services" in its annual college rankings guide, The Best 377 Colleges, 2013 Edition. The College was among only four institutions from Pennsylvania to rank in the top 20.

"Grove City College is a very special place with students who are committed to pursuing excellence by using their God-given abilities on and off campus," said Thrasher, a 1980 graduate of Grove City College. "Our students graduate very well prepared to take on the challenges of the marketplace."

Even in a down economy, Grove City College graduates boasted a 94 percent placement rate in jobs or graduate school within the first six months of graduation in 2011. The results were validated by a 95 percent response rate among recent graduates.

The Career Services Office equips students for success in entering the job market through early engagement, partnering with students as early as their freshman year. Through strategizing career options, networking, pursing internships that align with their professional aspirations and fine tuning interview skills, Grove City College students are impressing employers and landing job and internship opportunities.

In 2011, Grove City College attracted 218 corporate visits to campus, the most in the school's history. Top companies and organizations return to campus continually to recruit, including Microsoft, Intel, Ernst & Young, Bayer Corp., UPMC, FedEx, Xerox, PNC, Teach for America, Tyco International, Target, Northwestern Mutual, PPG Industries and Marathon Oil, as well as Bechtel Plant Machinery Inc. and many more.

Thrasher is in his 19th year as the Director of Career Services at Grove City College. He is the son of Tom and Mary Thrasher of Gowanda, N.Y.

To learn more about the Career Services Office, visit www2.gcc.edu/cso.

Founded in 1876, Grove City College stands on its founding ideals of faith and freedom, made possible by an unwavering commitment to Christian principles and rigorous academics at a price within the reach of families with modest means. The College, located 60 miles north of Pittsburgh, Pa., has an enrollment of 2,500 students and teaches the liberal arts, sciences and engineering. It is an advocate of the free market economic system and accepts no federal funding. Tuition is about half the national average for private colleges. Grove City College has been named the Top Value in Private Liberal-Arts Schools by Consumers Digest Magazine. The Intercollegiate Studies Institute has named the College one of 50 All-American Colleges, ranking it high for increasing students' civic literacy. Grove City College has been named a Best Value and one of the best colleges in America by Princeton Review and U.S. News & World Report. The Young America's Foundation calls Grove City College one of the Top Conservative Schools in the country.