Tierra Womack
Human Resources Administration Graduate from San Joaquin Valley College
I lost my father to cancer, so when this situation arose that I lost my partner, Tyler, my mother (Tunya) was the only one who knew what I was going through. She told me, ‘I know you are hurting, but all you can do, baby, is take it one day at a time. You’re living for today and you’re living for your son. And I know Tyler would be proud of you’. I was really in a place where I needed to take my mind and focus it on something – a healthy distraction.
I have a strong background in customer service and prior to enrolling in this program, I was in a Call Center position. Being in that work environment I realized that we never had anyone to talk with in the company about our issues – no one to really help us out, to represent us. I wanted to be that person someone could come to for that kind of support. Human Resources was a really good direction for me. When I was looking for schools, I found SJVC online and saw that they offered an online schedule (Human Resources Administration program) that met my needs. I requested information and was contacted by an Admissions Advisor who told me about the program and how it works. It sounded really good. I just ‘let go and let God’ and trusted the advisor.
My favorite part of being in an online program was by far the discussion posts. We would interact with the other students and share ideas about what we were learning that week – like Labor Laws. We could see everyone’s point of view. As I was doing the program I was getting As in class. Instructors know what they want for their students and push them toward their goals. They wanted to make sure I was understanding everything because I was going to take that out into the world in my new profession.
After finishing my program, I began my job search, and SJVC was very helpful in this process. SJVC’s Career Services had us practice interviewing, and it made me nervous because I wasn’t used to interviewing. This helped me in my own job interview process that lasted about two months and included 4 to 5 rounds of interviews.
I’m so glad I chose SJVC because everyone is so helpful. Instructors were very attentive and responsive. Even though it was an online program, I didn’t feel that distance. There was never a time I wouldn’t get a response (from faculty) that day. Our teachers were really right there for us whether you’re one mile away or a thousand miles away.