Life After Graduation

Transcript

It’s not easy being the first in your family to go to college or to know your direction. Well allow me to introduce Karina. She graduated in 2011. Today, she’s helping so many kids get the education they deserve. She’s a passionate advocate for her community. I’ll let Karina give you the full story.

– I can’t believe it’s been 10 years since I graduated from UC Davis. I hope my story of how I got there and how I got here will help you in finding your pathway. My parents immigrated from Mexico to Willows, California, a small agricultural town with three streetlights. My oldest sister Olga was the first in our family to go to college. So I knew that I wanted to follow her example. So I studied hard and joined the Educational Talent Search Program, a federally funded program that helps low income and first-generation kids get into college. I wanted to live on campus and meet students from different places and cultures. When I got there, I was shocked by how many bikes were on campus. There was so much activity everywhere. I struggled academically at first and that was really scary, but I looked for help and found so much support around me. I took advantage of office hours. I found services to have your papers reviewed before submitting and I joined a Latina sorority. Many of my pledge sisters came from similar backgrounds and they really helped keep me going. My grades improved dramatically. These girls are still my best friends. I imagined a career in education, maybe as a counselor. So I decided to major in community regional development. It completely expanded my horizons. I later applied for an internship through the University of California Washington DC Program. Four days after graduation, I was working for the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics, little did I know that would be the stage for a career that has taken me to so many places. In California, I worked as an advisor for Educational Talent Search, the same program that had helped me get into UC Davis. I then spent some time on the corporate side as a recruiter, helping Fortune 500 companies find talent, but then I got into politics and all that I learned up until that moment in the classroom and on the job was exactly what I needed to make that leap. In 2018, I was elected trustee for the Sacramento County Board of Education. Today I’m the in the city of Sacramento. If you’re wondering about your own path, here’s my advice, explore, be curious, challenge conventional thinking. It’s okay not to know what you wanna do. You never know what jobs are out there anyway, learn all you can, do all you can for yourself and for others, that will help you find your way and prepare you for wherever you go. And in my experience, there’s no better place to do that than UC Davis.

– Karina, what an inspiration. I can’t even begin to imagine how many lives you’ve touched. You’re living proof that you don’t have to decide between succeeding and helping others. And you’ve got so much ahead of you still. Thank you for all your work and for joining us today. Take care, Karina.