Bakersfield college (BC) held a From Transfer to Career panel including alumni to share their journey and tips at the Levan Center on Thursday, March 27 from 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
The panel included Jacob Kountz, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Andu Yohannes, a Senior Human Resources Consultant, Lawrence Salcido Jr., a Community Outreach Specialist, and Gema Reyes, a School Psychologist. Each panelist transferred and graduated from California State University Bakersfield (CSUB). When asked what major they were in, both Kountz and Salcido were Psychology majors, Yohannes a Business Administration major, and Reyes a Sociology major.
Each panelist shared their journey from high school to BC then to CSUB. Kountz had gone to a high school where they weren’t prepared for college leaving him stuck on what to do. Kountz was at BC for 7 years. He stated community college helped him to learn skills. Yohannes originally wanted to go to UCS and CSU’s but decided to go to BC. He stated it wasn’t a race to finish and took 3 years to finish. He was able to get extra help and was able to figure out which career he was interested in. Reyes was in the nursing program at BC and took advantage of all the resources here at BC. Salcido had dropped out in 2008 and decided to work. In 2015 he enrolled into BC again which led him to putting all the effort into school and even got into student government.
When asked how they were able to manage school financially they mentioned things such as working part time, living with family or friends, taking student jobs on campus to reduce gas, taking the bus, scholarships, sending letters to local organizations, and saving the financial aid money that was left over from paying tuition.
Both Yohannes and Reyes mentioned that a hardship they went through at CSUB was getting used to the quarter system. It was fast paced but Yohannes had built skills at BC which he applied at CSUB to help him get through it. Reyes mentioned although they didn’t receive as much support there, all the support she got at BC helped her figure her way through CSUB. Kountz received help from professors and Salcido mentioned faking curiosity helped him ask questions.
Networking and being connected was a main tip from the panelist in ways to get into the career market. Kountz stated to get to know the job you’re applying to such as your professor who could have been in that job. Going to community events and having a LinkedIn, Yohannes recommends. Both Reyes emphasized going to events about the job and Salcido stated by doing that they’ll reach out to you instead of vice versa.
Justin Navarro, a student at BC, is enrolled in Kern Promise. Navarro stated in Kern Promise they are required to attend a meeting each semester. What stuck out the most to Navarro was seeing how many alumni have succeeded on the same pathway. Navarro is currently a computer science major on their second semester at BC and is planning to transfer to CSUB.
The Levan Center provided snacks after the panel for the audience and panelist. Any future events at the Levan Center are available on the BC page under Calendar.