Career Center

So last week on Thursday I attended a meeting at the Career Center, and it was sponsored by Project Hope. It was a special meeting intended for their Career and Life Transitions program. Even though I'm 24 and the program is supposed to be for 25+, they said it was fine. My career counselor Cami Vignoe was there, and we  set up an appointment, for today actually, to discuss my career aspirations. I am enrolled in a career planning class, PD 191, and it requires me to take an assessment. I took the Myer Briggs test and Strong Interest Inventory, and will go over the results today with Cami. The assessments, career center and class all help me to better understand myself, which career direction is right for me, and begin to move along that path. I've been me my whole life (lol), but still, sometimes its hard to be honest with yourself about what you really want to do without a little probing. I definitely recommend these tools for students in my position who have an idea of what they want to do but need it more concrete, or even students who have no idea at all. It's like the quote from the other day: "A year from now you will wish you had started today." (Karen Lamb).

Lunch with my supervisor

Today I had lunch with Alex, who took me to the JSB cafe. (Read my previous post for more info on the JSB cafe here!) It was such a good opportunity to hear about his work experiences and how he decided to graduate school etc. We talked about the benefits of going straight to graduate school, or working first. After talking to him, I feel really good about my decision to attend community college to "find myself", because at graduate school you should basically know exactly why you need to utilize that skill. Additionally, in the business field work experience can be more important than graduate work initially, and then many return to get a graduate degree when they're more established with their career. He suggested I talk to some people in the field I want to be in, and also look into the job titled project manager, which is a combination of someone with technical skills but mostly dealing with people.

I'm so glad that I have the opportunity to work here as an intern and to be exposed to people in the industry who are willing to take their time to help me out.

If you are interested in an campus internship, check out the Career Center and use the Job Connection.  Just some advice from me: if a job isn't there that you want, go find it. I didn't find my job online, I called directly to find out if a position was open. Being proactive is vital!

"If you have a dream, give it a chance to happen."

"If you have a dream, give it a chance to happen." - Richard Devos, from "Whatever it Takes"

This weekend, I went home to San Diego and took the CBEST. The CBEST is what allows me, a college graduate, to become a substitute teacher.  Taking the CBEST has been a goal of mine for a while, but before returning to school I was struggling with the financial commitment of $100.

Since I graduated in 2009 from San Diego State University, I dealt with a lot of obstacles. I was having trouble finding a job, began a commission-only based job which quickly fizzled, and ended up working in retail for a year.

When I was at school, though I was supporting myself financially with student loans and grants, I always felt hopeful. There were certain times I worried about paying bills, but I always saw a light at the end of the tunnel with graduation. As graduation approached, I began to feel kind of like someone getting closer and closer to the edge of the cliff. This feeling permeated my emotions and actions, and it prevented me from success in some ways.


Returning to college and going to SBCC was one of the best choices I ever made. Being around other people who work hard to achieve their goals is so important. Returning to college gave me the opportunity to get financial aid, and use that money toward buying a computer and other important financial goals. It gave me the ability to increase my skills, and find a job related to what I'm passionate about. But I think, most importantly for me, it gave me a place emotionally to feel good about taking risks like taking the CBEST. Taking the CBEST this weekend is a symbol of my ability to take a risk and achieve success, because guess what? I got my preliminary results in 2 of the 3 areas, and I have passed!


NOTE: If you are reading this and are wondering about how you can finance your education, I highly suggest you visit the SBCC Financial Aid page. The financial aid counselors work one-on-one with you to make sure that you fill out the forms you need and get everything properly submitted. If money is stopping you from going to school, don't let it- get help!

Scheinfeld Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation

At SBCC, I have access to the SBCC Scheinfeld Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation. You can find their facebook here. They have classes for students for credit, and for non-students in the community. Their website is awesome! They also are linked to South Coast Biz Connect, which I just created a profile for, and from what I can see it is a way to network. Just by looking on their website for five minutes, I am already finding lots of valuable resources for me. Their are job postings, ways to create a professional profile, and links to other valuable websites such as the National Association of Women Business Owners. I'm checking out those non-credit classes, which are something I can just pick up at a more flexible schedule, here. Want to learn how to sell online? For free? Done.  Want to learn about financial planning? The more time I spend looking at the website, the more impressed I am. Check out their awesome video library!

I am taking Internet marketing, social networking and career planning. However, after discussing it with my professor yesterday, with Professor Kimerly Taylor, it’s probably better that I switch to a self-paced career planning class, which is one unit, versus the three unit class. The difference is the three unit class is kind of a lecture style, whereas the self paced class, which is one unit, is much more independent, which suits me at this time. I was really impressed that Kimberly took so much time after class to discuss my career goals is such a frank manner. Having come from the workforce and back to school gives me a perspective about what I want in a job that gives me a great starting point for career counseling. I should probably explain that my choice to come SBCC was not in pursuing my first degree, but actually in gaining job skills I feel that I am lacking. I have a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from San Diego State University, and have spent the last year in a long job hunt. I decided that returning to school to learn the computer skills for marketing that I see in jobs that interest me will help me go from having a job to having a career. Pursuing my career is the major focus of the semester, which is certainly different from a lot of younger students (I am 23) who are figuring out who they are, and getting used to the college lifestyle, perhaps living independently for the first time. While I feel a little bit different in that respect, when it comes down to it, I am still figuring myself out, and I still feel like I can connect to students around me.

Check out my Social Marketing Class here.