Need a Job? The Career Center Can Help
Emma Galvan | DEPUTY EDITOR
January 29, 2026
As you approach graduation are you figuring out graduate school? Find a job to pay off your tuition? Or even figure out what a resume actually is and why yours isn’t getting you hired? Because the Whittier College Career Center is there to help you answer these questions.
Located right next to the Campus Inn (CI), on Jan. 20 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., the Center for Career and Professional Development put together an open house event for students, staff, and alumni to come by to meet the staff and get to know about the resources and programs available.
The Career Center had its doors open during peak lunch rush hour, welcoming anyone and everyone.
Upon entering, guests were met with balloons on the wall above a small table full of refreshments for attendees to enjoy while talking amongst each other and the staff. In the middle of the room, there was a long table that had three different stacks of papers that had information about future events and Whittier Works, a new program that was recently introduced to the College last academic year. The TV at the entrance of the office was also showing various other events and resources, such as job fairs and workshops that were happening soon.
The Career Center is a one stop shop to help students develop their professional skills and careers during or after their time at the College. These resources include employer training, resume and cover letter development, preparation for interviews, how to use LinkedIn workshops, personal marketing, internship opportunities, and resources for soon to be graduates to prepare and apply for grad school.
These resources also extend to alumni. The Career Center sends newsletters to alumni about job fairs, internships, and workshops to come by and use. According to the Assistant Director of the Career Center, Deseray Rivas, “As long as the person is still here [at Whittier], services will always be open for our alumni indefinitely. […] There are a lot of Cal States and UCs that charge their alumni when they come back to receive those types of services.”
These services are also here for the staff and faculty of the College as well, “We offer workshops for a lot of our faculty members on campus and will partner and support them, typically in senior seminars. Sandra [Arana], our current Director, actually teaches two classes that are on campus. One of them is specifically geared towards students that want to receive credit for their internships,” Rivas explains.
The Career Center ensures funding for any students in their internships and creative projects, though the students must contact the Career Center first and let them know so they can provide the right applications.
The Career Center is directly involved in Whittier Works. Described on a flyer as a “college to career success initiative that provides students with opportunities to connect with academic coursework, co curricular experience, community involvement, and career skills.”
Any form of skills or experience that one may have can be shaped and formed by the Career Center to make you look the best as possible for future employers.
Whittier Works allows students to have better access to networking services, opportunities, and tools to develop their working skills. Students are eligible for Whittier Works if they have worked a minimum of 20+ hours of work and service in their field, if the project supports a regional agency, group, or civic cause, and they have their supervisor sign off on their learning agreement. After applying on Handshake and all of the paperwork has been reviewed and approved, eligible students can earn up to $6,000 for how many hours they are involved with Whittier Works and their projects and internships. To learn more about the program, you can reach out to Megan Gray, the Assistant Dean and Director of Experimental Education through her email mgray1@poets.whittier.edu.
If Whittier Works doesn’t work for you, there are still a plethora of events and opportunities throughout the semester. On Feb. 4, the Career Center will be collaborating with the Bookstore for the Senior Grad Fair, where seniors can stop by and learn about the actual graduation process while getting the last bit of everything that they need. In collaboration with the OIE and Alumni relations, the Center will be hosting on Feb. 12 and Mar. 25, Thriving Authentically, a series where alumni return and talk about their experiences in different industries.
Feb. 27 is the return of the JCPenny suit up, where students, staff, and faculty can get around 20-25% discounts on professional attire, as long as they show their Whittier College ID. March 18 and 19 is the Spring Industry Hiring Fair, where numerous companies that have collaborated with the Career Center stop by and offer information about their services and hiring opportunities for any current and former student that is interested. Finally, the Career Center will do its yearly Lunch N’ Learn: 6-step job research panel on April 8 and 15, a panel where students learn how to successfully navigate the job research process.
The Career Center is the perfect place to start learning about your career and post-grad journey. The staff understand the fear and anxiety of not knowing the next step or how to do certain processes. Whether it’s for jobs or going into higher education, they are always willing to listen and help. To contact the Career Center, you can email Samdra Arana at sarana@whittier.edu and Deseray Rivas at drivas2@whittier.edu, email the Career Center directly at careercenter@whittier.edu, or stop by between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m..