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| December 2025 | Career Center |
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Over the past several months, the Career Center has reached out to you—our friends, colleagues, and campus partners—for help nominating, recommending, and referring students for three major initiatives we're working on for the new year. I have been amazed and humbled by how you have shown up for us. On behalf of my team, THANK YOU for your incredible support; here's a brief summary of the student impact you're helping us make: Diversity Works Expo & Awards
Tech Accelerator Program with Possible and Seattle University
Career Clarity Retreat with Campus Ministry
This is work we cannot do alone, and these numbers are an excellent reflection of Santa Clara University's commitment to a "career everywhere" strategy. As always, I look forward to working together to deliver on the promise of higher education for all of our students: a good job, social capital, and economic mobility in pursuit of a more humane, just and sustainable world.
◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ Career Center Repeats Mentorship Program Success for Students in Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences
In alignment with the goals of Impact 2030, the Career Center—with support from the College of Arts and Sciences and the Alumni Office—hosted the 2nd Annual Alumni-Student Mentorship Program for students in the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. More than 180 students and alumni signed up and 99 students were paired with a mentor (a nearly 10% increase over last year)!
Photos by Adam Hays Photography | View photo album On Wednesday, October 29, we hosted the Kick-off Dinner where mentors and mentees met each other in person for the first time. Participants enjoyed a delicious catered dinner by Bon Appétit and Kathy Aoki, Associate Dean, delivered opening welcome remarks. Congratulations to Shauna Strauss, Assistant Director of Career Development, who again, as staff lead for this program, did a great job collaborating with a multitude of campus partners, recruiting and thoughtfully matching alumni mentors and student mentees, and facilitating a well-structured, high-energy kick-off event. Questions about the Mentorship Program? Email Shauna Strauss at sstrauss@scu.edu.. ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ Western Digital Hosts 68 Students for Full Day Field Experience
On Friday, November 14, Western Digital, a leading data storage company headquartered right here in Santa Clara, hosted 68 students as part of a full-day field experience. The trek was sponsored by both the Career Center and Ciocca Center.
During this immersive experience, students enjoyed a factory tour to see the cutting-edge manufacturing process up close, an alumni panel featuring Jessie Lai MBA '20, Michael Bejan MBA '22, Jefferson Hampton '24, Kritika Gupta MS '20, Stephen Cauterucio '12, MS '16, and ample time for networking with WD professionals and recruiters. Thank you to Melissa Thiriez, Director of Employer Relations and Partnerships, and Cindy Cooper from Ciocca Center, for leading this effort, coordinating all the details, and facilitating a great experience for our students. Questions about this event? Email Melissa Thiriez at mthiriez@scu.edu. ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ 50 Students Attend "Students at the Stadium" Hosted by San Francisco 49ers
On Tuesday, November 18, 50 Santa Clara students joined hundreds of other local college students for the San Francisco 49ers' annual "Students at the Stadium" event to learn how to break into the sports industry.
Read, "Broncos get inside access to the 49ers and the sports industry," by Nic Calande, recently published in Santa Clara's Feature Stories section, to learn more about this exciting event. Thank you to Zarina Yamat, Assistant Director of Employer Relations, for taking the lead to coordinate all the details, including arranging transportation for the students. Questions about this event? Email Zarina Yamat at zyamat@scu.edu. ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ Student Spotlight: Diana Garcia-Becerra '26
Diana Garcia-Becerra '26, is a mechanical engineering student who has found career success by using the many resources Santa Clara has to offer. As Diana prepares to graduate this June, we invited her to share her reflections for our Student Spotlight series. How has the Career Center helped you achieve your career goals? Coming into Santa Clara University as a first-generation college student, I had limited knowledge about navigating academic and professional spaces. I knew that to create the best opportunities for myself, I needed to step out of my comfort zone and make full use of the resources available to me. I became involved in student organizations and regularly attended Career Center workshops to support my professional development. Resume reviews, coffee chats with employers, and career fairs were especially valuable in helping me grow. Now, in my final year at Santa Clara, I’m proud of how far I’ve come and am committed to sharing what I’ve learned with the classes that follow! What advice would you give to students who may be curious or nervous about using the Career Center? Utilize all the resources that are provided to you while you're at Santa Clara University. We are surrounded by professors, staff, and faculty who want to see us succeed and are willing to put in the effort to make it a reality. Diana, congratulations on your upcoming graduation and all you have accomplished here at Santa Clara! ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ Alumni Spotlight: Dana Stefanides '23
Dana Stefanides '23, is a School of Engineering alumna who recently joined Microwave Power Products (MPP) as a Design/Development Engineer after participating in the Career Center's Hiring Now virtual career fair last May 2025. In a virtuous circle, Dana recently returned to campus to participate in our STEM Fair, but this time as an employer representative for MPP rather than as a job seeker. We invited her to share her reflections for our Alumni Spotlight series. How has the Career Center helped you achieve your career goals? I graduated in 2023 with a job that began as an internship, which I found through a STEM career fair. In May 2025 I was looking for a new job and attended the Hiring Now career fair. I applied for open positions at MPP in advance and got to speak to some of the MPP team. After completing the interview process I received an offer early July for a design and development engineering role. In October I attended the career fair as an “employer” with MPP. What advice would you give to students who may be curious or nervous about using the Career Center? Both times, I was recognized from the applicant pool because of the questions I asked at the career fair! Ask thoughtful questions that show you’ve done your research before hand and are already thinking about how you can contribute in this role. Congratulations, Dana, on your career success post-graduation and thank you for coming back to campus to recruit Santa Clara students! ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ Career Center Partners with School of Engineering to Launch New Core Class for Graduate Students
Myriam Bartz, Assistant Director of Career Development, has partnered with Quarterly Lecturer Sumeet Syal to develop and launch ENGR 288 - Strategizing Your Internship and Job Search Process, a new 2-unit core class for Winter 2026 that fulfills the Professional Development Requirement for graduate students. Please encourage grad engineering students to register. This course is designed to provide students with the tools and strategies to successfully navigate the internship and job search process. Students will assess their skills and talents, utilize job search tools effectively, and design a personalized plan to guide their academic and career decisions. Additionally, the course will cover strategies to thrive in American business culture and adapt to the evolving work landscape. External panelists will also be featured throughout the course, offering students valuable insights and networking opportunities. Congratulations to Myriam Bartz, as this course represents the first time in known memory that the Career Center has officially partnered with one of the schools and colleges to develop, introduce and co-teach a course! Plus a big shout out to Dr. Drazen Fabris for believing in and championing this idea. Questions about ENGR 288? Email Myriam Bartz at mbartz2@scu.edu. ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ Shauna Strauss, Marie Bertola Co-Present at AAC&U Conference on Global Learning
At the annual AAC&U (American Association of Colleges and Universities) Conference on Global Learning, held November 12–14, Marie Bertola, Teaching Professor in Modern Languages and Literatures, and Shauna Strauss, Assistant Director of Career Development, co-presented a session titled “Beyond Fluency: Career-Oriented Approaches to Language Curriculum Design”.
Their talk examined curricular initiatives that connect Italian language learning with career readiness, demonstrating how world languages can align with the occupational dimension of cura personalis. They outlined several curricular innovations: a newly designed Italian Internship course; interdisciplinary offerings such as Italian for Engineers and Global Contributions of Italian Design; and the integration of NACE (National Association of Colleges and Employers) competencies into the elementary Italian language sequence. They also underscored expanding collaborations with the Career Center, including the mentorship program with alumni and the upcoming joint “Languages at Work” event in February, part of a broader departmental effort to build sustainable partnerships that strengthen students’ academic and professional pathways. Questions? Email Shauna Strauss at sstrauss@scu.edu. ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ Noël Kreidler Co-Authors Book that Helps Readers "Flip the Script on Failure"
The Career Center is proud to share that Noël Krëidler, Associate Director of Career Development, is a co-author of the recently published book, Faceplant: FREE Yourself from Failure's Funk, alongside Melisa Buie and Keeley Hurley. The book is available for purchase through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Harvard Book Store, and more. An audiobook will soon be available.
About Faceplant: "Flip the Script on Failure: By exploring your subconscious patterns of response to failure, Faceplant brings a fresh new mindset to life's tripping hazards. It's time to edit your story and let the adventure begin. Discover tools to define new patterns for yourself, create fresh opportunities for engaging in life, and support others as they navigate the gravity of their failures." SAVE THE DATE: On Monday, February 2, Noël and her co-authors will be on campus for a lunchtime author talk. More details to come. Questions about Faceplant? Email Noël Kreidler at skreidler@scu.edu. ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ Happy Holidays from the Career Center
In longstanding tradition, each year before Thanksgiving break, the Career Center hosts our holiday potluck and office decorating party. Over homemade treats, dips and desserts, we celebrate all we've accomplished, share stories of family holiday traditions, fashion snowmen out of construction paper, and find the perfect place for each ornament, menorah, garland and wreath...
From all of us working in the Career Center, ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ Not just the Career Center... your Career Center! Questions, concerns, ideas, suggestions?
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