​Student Worker Finds Her Direction at SCC

Santiago Canyon College (SCC) alumna Carmen Herrera discovered her future career while working as a student in SCC’s Student Life and Leadership office. Herrera first started as a volunteer and worked her way up to a student worker in the office.

While in this role, she met numerous students in the Associate Student Government as well as those who came into the office seeking information. She became friends with a particular student who asked about her job.

Some advice that she gave the student was to always dress to impress because you never know when you may run into your future boss. This was advice she had taken from her father and now gave to someone else. The student had also asked for her to take a look at his resume.

With this advice, the student went into a Starbucks, dressed to impress with his new resume and asked if they were hiring. The manager was impressed and explained how to apply for a job. After the student applied, he ended up being hired at that Starbucks. The student came back to Herrera and told her about it and that’s when she discovered that she wanted to work in some capacity in student services.

Prior to this, Herrera did not really know what direction she wanted to go in. But, after this encounter, she discovered that she wanted to help show students their potential. She went on to earn a degree in communications from California State University, Fullerton, and now works as a part-time, short-term counseling assistant in the Career Services office. She wants to continue her education and earn a master’s in student affairs and higher education. “When I hear a student say ‘I didn’t know SCC offered that service,’ it’s music to my ears, because I know I helped them learn something new,” said Herrera.​