Many people aren’t willing to go the extra mile to help students achieve their career dreams and goals, especially when they work solo and once derailed their own college career.

Suzanne Papa has been an advisor for SRJC’s Career Center for nearly two decades. She is the go-to person when it comes to showing students how to use the Career Center’s resources; she helps guide students into choosing a major or making career decisions.

Papa also assists students when they’re nearing completion of a program or when they’re getting ready to find a job. Papa helps students review their resumes and cover letters and does practice interviews. She is also responsible for planning all SRJC career-related events, including seminars and Career Information Day.

Papa wasn’t a typical college student. She admits to taking a slightly long and different path when it came to finishing her college education. At 30-years-old, she attended the College of San Mateo as a Journalism major and ended up taking a job with the college newspaper. Although she enjoyed writing, she couldn’t see herself working permanently for a newspaper.

“I like creative writing and marketing…writing for marketing purposes so the writing skills come in handy no matter what you do,” Papa said. She changed her major to Management, which appealed to her because it was a combination of everything done in business, from budgeting to marketing to planning. “I like working in a business atmosphere, and I like helping students,” Papa said.

In 1990, Papa moved to Sonoma County and found the job market to be difficult, so she started a home-based word processing business. One day a client who worked as a vocational rehabilitation counselor hired her to work with her clients and assist them with career research and resume writing. From there she worked as a donor recruiter for the Blood Bank doing marketing and public relations.

In 1995 a new position with SRJC’s Career Center became available, and she was hired for the position. Initially, the job was created to help students with job searching and planning, but it evolved into more.

Papa meets with many students individually to discuss their majors or offer career advice. The two most asked questions she gets are, “What’s a HOT career?” and, “What should I be going for?” Papa tells students it’s not an easy answer because there are many factors that go into choosing a career. One consideration is that students will spend more time on their job than with their own family. Papa said it’s a personal decision when choosing a major or career. It should be something that one likes, not just something one chooses because there are a lot of jobs, or because ones friends are doing it or ones family thinks that it’s the best thing for you.

“You need to consider your strengths, your talents, what’s important to you. If this career that you’re considering will offer you a livable wage and thinking long-term…is it a job that will exist five to 10 years from now?” Papa said.

Beverly Henningsen, Intern Coordinator/Instructor in SRJC’s Work Experience Department, has worked alongside Papa for more than 20 years. “She delivers the quality of service that’s just phenomenal,” she said. “She is a great networking resource to help the student connect with, either careers or jobs, and I think her greatest skill is just using those probing questions and trying to determine what the student is interested in or looking for.”

Papa said that due to the progress in technology, the world is changing at a rapid pace and jobs keep changing as well, so no matter what major students choose, they need to continue to learn to stay relevant and employable. “Just because you get a certificate or degree, it doesn’t end there,” Papa said.

She encourages students to put in the time before they start taking classes because that way they find out if the major or career is a good fit for them. “Finding yourself enrolling in something and then dropping out because it’s not for you. This tends to be discouraging, so careful planning can help you get around that,” Papa said.

If students choose to meet with Papa in the Career Center, they’re shown computerized resources where they’ll be able to have their questions answered, and they’ll also be directed to educational venues where they can obtain information about earning a certificate or degree. There are also books and materials available to students with information on majors and careers. Students should also research on their own, such as conducting informational interviews and talking to people in their chosen career, and asking them questions about what they like or don’t like. “That’s where you’re going to get some real solid tips and the true story about the career,” Papa said.

Another bit of advice Papa stressed was the importance of career ladders as a stepping-stone to the major or career students are hoping to go into. “If you would like to be, let’s say a nurse, why not start out taking classes as a certified nurse assistant. This is a very quick way to find out if you’re well suited in working with sick people. In one semester, you can get the certification,” Papa said.

Barbara King, SRJC’s Student Employment Coordinator, has worked with Papa since 2007. King often refers students to Papa to get help with resumes and anything major or career-related. “I think that everything Suzanne does she really puts a lot of attention to the details and tries to produce a quality brand. I get the feeling certainly that when she helps a student she really tries to help them…you know, go as far as she can…360 degrees of help,” King said.

What Papa enjoys most about working in the Career Center is for the success stories. “Sometimes a student I helped in 2002 will come back and maybe they’re in a position now where they’re hiring, and they’ve achieved their goals. That’s satisfying to see that it really does work…that the advice that I’m giving is sound,” Papa said.

For more information about SRJC’s Career Center services, such as career testing, computerized software, seminars and Career Information Day on April 25, 2012, visit the Career Center’s website at: www.santarosa.edu/career