Category: Student Life at VC

Hello students! April is the month for the Career Fair! I was able to speak with Megan Walter, who is a Student Services Assistant at the Career Center. I asked her some questions about the Career Fair and got some information + tips, so let’s get right into that.

On the flyer above, it lists all of the workshops happening before the Career Fair at the Career Center. It mentions the day and time the workshops will be held. From April 24-26 at 10am-6pm, the “Do’s & Donuts” workshop will be held. This Career Fair Prep-Shop will help students with their resume, 30 second pitch, and more help about the Career Fair. At this workshop, donuts, coffee, and a Career Fair Prep Kit will be provided for all attendees. In addition, on April 21 at 10am, students will be given help to start their job search. At 12pm on April 21, students will be given help to build their resume. At the same time as the “Do’s & Donuts” workshop, students will be able to meet the employers that will be at the Career Fair. Attend these workshops to be prepared!

On April 27 from 10am to 2pm, the Career Fair and Job Expo will be held in the Bookstore Quad. A recommendation from Megan is that if you are planning on attending the Career Fair, you should register via Handshake. You can register on vcccd.joinhandshake.com. From there, you can sign in using your vcccd login and answer a few questions. After you sign in, just search for the Career Fair event and hit join event at the top. You will automatically be registered for the Career Fair, receive event updates, and if you are one of the first 200 students to register, you get a free lunch! Registering also gets you a name card and a swag bag!

The Career Fair will have over 100 employers that you can find under the event on Handshake. You can even look into the websites of the employers, read their company backgrounds, and sort through the employers to fit the job you are looking for. You will be able to find jobs in the Healthcare, Government, Legal & Law Enforcement, and Non-Profit industry, etc. Attending the Career Fair will help you meet possible future employers and you can gain knowledge by asking questions. The goal of this Career Fair is to assist students in working on their professional development and gaining employment, while either in school or after they complete their degree/certificate.

To finish things off, here’s a tip from Megan about applying for your first job. She recommends going to the Career Center to get assistance on your resume and cover letter. You should make sure that you have both ready before applying for a position. If you have your resume all set, you can actually go to the Career Center and they will help you print out a few copies to have with you at the Career Fair. Being prepared and giving your resume to the recruiters, does impress them and helps you stand out. Megan recommends attending the “Do’s & Donuts” workshop to help prepare for the Career Fair.

Below are more flyers with more information!

SSC Building | vccareer@vcccd.edu | 805-289-6473 | Career Center Website

I interviewed the Vice-President, Abraham, of the Ventura College pre-med club along with getting some questions answered by its members to learn more about their club and get some insight into it. I first off wanted to know what their club was about and they told me that it is about promoting medical education and creating an outlet for like-minded individuals who are interested in medicine to socialize, learn more about the medical field, and have opportunities to gain exposure to the world of medicine. From knowing what their club was about I asked them what they had to offer to VC students and they explained that they offer the opportunity for students to hear from doctors and other medical professionals on the real perspective of what medicine truly is. They will also educate people on the field itself, go to seminar events at hospitals, and more.

The club goes beyond just being at the college but goes out of its way by getting experience from those who are in the field that these students want to be in, which will benefit them immensely in their careers.
I also wanted to know who exactly can join the club, and I found out that it is open to anyone who has an interest in medicine and is simply interested in the field are free to join.

The club advisors include Biology Professor Kammy Algiers and Organic Chemistry Professor Malia Rose-Seiza. I asked the board members of the club their names, roles, and majors to get a little more information about them since they all have different paths in life and they include Abraham, the club Vice-President who is majoring in Biochemistry. Dan, the club ICC Representative, who is majoring in Health Promotion. Emanuel, the club Treasurer, who is majoring in Biology. And finally, Isabella Coroda the club President, who is majoring in Biomedical Engineering.

The final piece of information I wanted to know about this club was what will VC students get out of being in this club?
Their answer was that students will gain the necessary information needed to fully understand what medicine is and learn about all the different opportunities you can have with an interest in medicine. They also mentioned how you will also grow connections with people who are also passionate about medicine and create a helpful and connective environment for others and yourself. So if you are interested in joining you can scan the QR code in the image above or you can email them as well. Piratepremedclub@gmail.com

Creating a resume or a cover letter, and preparing for job interviews can be overwhelming, but don’t worry – the Career Center at Ventura College is here to help!

Part of the mission of the Career Development Services (CDS) is to empower students to make enlightened career decisions; engage in experiential learning opportunities to develop skills and experience to successfully meet their career goals.

The Career Center offers a variety of services to guide students. That includes several workshops in person and virtually. You can learn about how to Build Your Résumé, Job Search/Internships, Interviews, and Career Planning.

When writing a resume, questions can arise such as: what is the basic information that should be included, and what should be described in detail? What is the proper layout and appearance? 

In the same way as a resume, a cover letter is also very personalized, and it is challenging to target a particular organization and position, decide the layout, appropriately address the letter, and mention referrals.

When interviewing for an internship or a new job, it’s common for students to have difficulties evaluating the responsibilities, relevant skills, experience of a position, and employment goals. If you need help with all of this, don’t hesitate to contact the (CDS)!

The annual Career Fair and Job Expo at Ventura College is approaching soon, it’s on Thursday, April 27th, 2023. From 10 am – 2 pm at the Bookstore Squad, VC. To get help with your resume or 30-second intro pitch, check their website for appointment hours or drop in at Career Center at campus.

Student Services Center (SSC)
4667 Telegraph Road
Ventura, CA 93003
805-289-6473
vccareer@vcccd.edu

Deciding to go to college and continuing your education is a huge accomplishment. However, attending community college can be a fun and rewarding experience, but it can also be challenging and stressful if you aren’t fully prepared. Between what major you want to pursue,trying to figure out what classes to sign up for, how to pay for school and what books and supplies you need, it’s all too easy to feel overwhelmed. Let’s take a look at how you can prepare beforehand with all the student resources available to you on the Ventura College website to prepare you for Priority registration which opens soon on April 17th, 2023.

I had the pleasure to speak to one of our amazing Ventura College counselor Corey Wendt via cellphone and was able to interviewed him regarding how to prepare for registration, how to know what classes to take, how to figure out what major would interest you,how to create a schedule that works for you and how to prepare to transfer to a 4-year after. Earning a degree or certificate from a community college can be a complex task, but you can easily navigate the challenges of these programs, and resources with some basic planning and organization.

The interview began by asking counselor Wendt “ How can students begin to prepare for Summer and Fall 2023 registration coming up and what are some tips that can help not feel too overwhelmed”. Wendt stated that the first most important task is to make sure you have met with an academic counselor to develop an accurate education plan. This is a very important step, because the academic counselors help future and current students understand what classes they need to take in order to reach their goal for the semester’s academics. After creating their academic plan, the next step would be to go on the my.vcccd.edu student portal under the register tab to check their registration date assigned to them, specifically dates vary from student to student. Step three: is to make sure you have reviewed the class schedule and have chosen classes that go according to plan with your time, schedule and current education plan, it is very important to look at this beforehand to understand the times and dates of the courses and what is expected for the course and what is needed in the course as well. So, when your registration opens you are prepared and can sign up with the CRN number and get the classes you need.

The next common question I asked was “Some students do not have a full plan of what they want their education plan to look like for them, if they want to earn a certificate or degree, or transfer after a few years at a community college. What help is there for those students who are still unsure about their next step.” Wendt suggested that there are resources for students early on that are a little unsure and not decided yet about what field they want to pursue.Ventura offers great introductory classes such as introduction to business,introduction to psychology,introduction to sociology, etc. However if that is not too helpful to take it a step further the counseling department offers a class “V02 Counseling” which is Career & Major Exploration it is a 3 unit class it helps students decide who they are as people,what they want as far as their education and career and how to help them find a path and solution to achieve their goals. This class will help figure out students that feel unsure about what path is for them. Taking this can class will allow students to explore early on before committing and taking other classes they do not fits them or their goals. Another amazing resource that can help students is through the Career Center website. It allows students to do research with regards to career planning, exploration and assessments to help them figure out what is the best pathway and make the processes easier and smoother. These tools will help students have options it won’t be exactly spot on, but they will help come up with an idea and information of what fits them better and make pretty good decisions about the field they pursue. Even if they have an idea of what field they want to pursue, academic counselors encourage students to explore and take the assessment to make sure they feel the connection and want to fully commit, because it is the beginning of their process, students still have time to explore. 

For new students there is a few more amazing tools that Ventura offers on their website under the academic counseling tab “student center” there are videos on how to read the class schedules,how to use the registration planner to register these are shortcuts that can help during this time of stress and excitement to begin your next chapter. Whether you’re pursuing an associate’s degree or a shorter certificate, talk to an adviser and devise a course of action that best suits your goals.It’s important to have at least the idea of an academic plan before you begin your classes, it’s okay to not be 100% sure of your future plans. Although this may sound like an intimidating process, you don’t have to do it alone.Ventura College has amazing academic advisers. Registration is coming soon, set sail with us at Ventura College to become a Pirate. Best of Good luck!

For more information click the link below to direct you to the Ventura College home page.

  Ventura College Home Page Website

Ventura College Career Center

Ventura College Registration Apply & Enroll

Ventura College Class Schedule

I went to the Diversity in Culture Festival at Ventura College. I had the pleasure to speak with Maria Teresa Flumerodo, also known as Gigi. Gigi is a professor of Anthropology at Ventura College and one of the organizers for the Diversity Culture Festival. I asked some questions regarding the event. Some of the questions I asked included, “When did the festival start, how did they get the idea to have Doloras come speak at the event this year, and what are some of the other events going on in the Festival?” This is the 8th annual event and it started in 2016. Before it got started there was an initiative to have awareness about diversity. They ended up receiving a grant to start the festival. Maria took it over in 2017.

This year’s festival had both virtual and on campus events.The theme was health and wellness. Maria said they wanted to focus on Mental Health. Which is so important right now and especially with college students. They had different performers like Yaminah Legohn- Afro dance, a drum circle and much more. There were also clubs and different vendors. I would recommend this event to anyone. It was a nice experience and you can learn something new that perhaps you didn’t know before, but don’t worry if you didn’t make this year’s event there will be one next year. They also had yummy food like an empanada food truck. I wanted to try one but sadly I had to leave early. 

I went on Thursday the thirteenth of April to see Doloras Huerta speak. She had a nice sense of humor while still delivering her thoughts on the importance of diversity and human rights. She is a Latino Labor leader, activist, and community organizer. In 1962 she and Cesar Chavez founded the United Farm Workers union. I think it was incredible to have someone who has accomplished so much speak at Ventura College. It surely was inspirational.

I asked Maria about Dolores and she said last year Dolores was on zoom for the festival. She talked about her life as a human rights activist, civil rights activist and feminist. Maria said it just wasn’t enough time. So they decided to contact her and have her come live to the event. She said that she is here also because the district came out with a resolution last year honoring her. So they were presenting her with the resolution for the Ventura Community College district. Maria said they wanted to say thank you to her for all her work and to inspire the students to get started in activism. 

Lastly, they really want to focus on joy and celebrating the college experience. Maria stated, “Having the festival there gives our campus a feel of being at an educational institution and I think we can highlight our students’ identity of the important aspects of the community. It’s really nice to bring in different things that you normally wouldn’t see. It’s really nice to give time for reflection and celebration. The festival allows for people to come together. Even if we aren’t participating but by just being in the audience.”

Showing young kids diversity is important and can be fun for them. I would definitely go again to see the other dances. I hope you get to go see what the diversity festival has to offer.