Some recent college graduates from San Joaquin County have managed to find jobs and others were able to continue their education despite the coronavirus pandemic of the past year.
• Melissa Romero, 22, graduated from University of the Pacific in December with an undergraduate and master’s degrees in accounting. She said she began applying for jobs a few months before graduating and eventually landed a job as an associate for CliftonLarsonAllen, an accounting firm.
“To be able to find a job, I think that was like my biggest worry as I was looking for a job … like will I not find a job, how long will it take me, will I find a firm that I will enjoy? Or you know, it all plays a factor.”
• Eleanna Garza, 23, graduated last year from San Joaquin Delta College with an associate of science degree in electron microscopy. In May 2019, she interviewed and received a summer internship at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory when she met recruiters at her campus. She is now a full-time electron microscopy technician.
“I feel like because I was still in the program when before COVID happened, I kind of had the higher ground to have that advantage over students unfortunately now who are probably struggling to get those positions and internships.”
• Mari-Jaeh Leandado, 20, is a merchandise associate for TJ Maxx, maintaining and organizing merchandise to create a pleasant shopping experience for customers. She graduated in December from Delta College with an associate of science degree in business administration. “I’m trying to expose myself more to what’s there and more the store and what’s behind the company and hopefully building myself up,” she said.
She plans to attend California State University, Sacramento in the fall to begin studies for a bachelor’s degree in business and hopes to continue working at a TJ Maxx store in Sacramento.
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“I think the job market across the board is very high, to be honest,” said Michelle Castanon, program manager of the CTE and Workforce Development Center at San Joaquin Delta College.
She said San Joaquin County has a variety of sectors, with a focus on agriculture, advanced manufacturing, and health sciences, that require positions to be filled by recent graduates.
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Tom Vecchione, associate vice president and executive director for career development at University of the Pacific, said in an email that 91% of the members of the Class of 2020 are either employed, attending graduate or professional school, or completing a post-graduate internship and that 87% of those employed indicate that their position “is related to my career objective.”
At Delta College, 73 percent of recent graduates reported that they…
Read More: As COVID-19 reshapes job market, some SJ college grads landing work