Q&A with Dean Gouin, System President and Chief Executive Officer of Westwood College
The following conversation focuses on success stories about Westwood College graduates and the Westwood 100 program.
What is the Westwood 100 and what was the idea behind it?
The profiles are highly personal and share incredible details about the obstacles that many graduates overcame to earn their degrees.
Westwood College is highlighting the Westwood 100 on campuses, not just on the Westwood 100 website, correct?
Will you be profiling more graduates in the future?
Who are some of the graduates profiled?
It’s pretty common that graduates juggled their studies with full-time jobs, family duties and other major responsibilities, correct?
One of the interesting things about the profiles is that graduates share advice with current students. What are some of the things they suggest?
What other advice do the graduates share?
Was anything surprising as you read through the Westwood 100 profiles?
What is the Westwood 100 and what was the idea behind it?
Dean: The original idea was a very simple one: Our team was hearing great stories about what alumni were accomplishing after they graduated from Westwood, and we wanted to find a way to highlight those to current students as a way to inspire them and show them how their education will pay off. From there, the idea blossomed into the Westwood 100 program, which highlights 100 graduates from every walk of life who pursued career aspirations in an amazing range of careers. The Westwood 100 profiles are also valuable to prospective Westwood students, showing them real-life examples of how earning a Westwood degree is an important step toward success and the career they would like to have.
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The profiles are highly personal and share incredible details about the obstacles that many graduates overcame to earn their degrees.
Dean: Yes, you're right. These are powerful stories, particularly because the graduates tell them in their own words. They explain why they wanted to get an education, what they were aspiring to achieve through their studies, and how much they went through to achieve their goals. Their stories are testaments to what you can do when you set a goal, work hard and persevere even when you run into roadblocks. It's a common theme that runs through all of the profiles.
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Westwood College is highlighting the Westwood 100 on campuses, not just on the Westwood 100 website, correct?
Dean: We are featuring the Westwood 100 graduates in a wide range of places, including on campuses. On each of our campuses, we have prominent signage featuring individual Westwood 100 graduates and pointing people to places like the website where they can get the graduate's full story. Some of the Westwood 100 graduates are even featured in video profiles that are on the college's YouTube channel.
We have also printed books with all 100 profiles, and those books are available to flip through on each of our campuses in areas like the main lobbies. The books are very well done, and I’m proud of all the work that went into creating a format that does justice to the great success stories it tells. Everyone should take a look at the book if they have a chance, but in the meantime, I suggest everyone take a moment to browse the website. One of the neat features that the web team built into it is the ability to filter the profiles so that you see success stories of graduates from specific geographic areas, area of academic study, age, and whether they have children. That makes it easy for current and prospective students to read success stories about people who are exactly like them—from similar areas, with similar responsibilities to juggle in addition to school, with similar backgrounds. It’s powerful when a student who is pursuing a degree can look at someone who is a mirror image of them and who overcame the same obstacles to achieve their dreams.
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Will you be profiling more graduates in the future?
Dean: Yes. We are accepting new nominations now at the Westwood 100 submission page, and we plan to highlight more graduates with new profiles going forward. There is a real sense of pride that graduates have, and they want to share their stories as a way to give back to Westwood and inspire other students. They know how many challenges students face while they pursue their degrees, and the graduates we profile want to help other students achieve their dreams the way each of them has.
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Who are some of the graduates profiled?
Dean: There are so many great stories. I encourage anyone to spend a few minutes browsing the Westwood 100 site or flipping through the printed books at each of our campuses, but one that comes to mind is Armando Lopez. He graduated from Westwood’s Computer-Aided Design/ Architectural Drafting program and he is now in the fourth year of his career as a product designer for a refrigeration company. Monet Murray has a great story. She earned her degree from the Criminal Justice program while working a full-time job and overcoming other obstacles, and she now has the job she always wanted supporting underprivileged families through advocacy and social services.
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It’s pretty common that graduates juggled their studies with full-time jobs, family duties and other major responsibilities, correct?
Dean: Very common. It’s a challenge that so many current Westwood students face, and the Westwood 100 offers so many successful role models for students who have to fit their education into a very busy schedule. Roxana Aguilar talks about that balancing act in her profile. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in Marketing Management and is now working for a leading marketing publication.
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One of the interesting things about the profiles is that graduates share advice with current students. What are some of the things they suggest?
Dean: One of the most common pieces of advice is, not surprisingly, to stick with it. Westwood students hear that from lots of people, but it means more coming from graduates who know exactly what current students are going through and can speak from experience. The graduates talk about the importance of taking school seriously and staying focused on the end goal. Several graduates also emphasize how important it is to ask for help if you are having trouble. There is a big support network for students here, and the students who tap into it when they hit rough spots have a better shot at staying in school and successfully completing their degree program.
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What other advice do the graduates share?
Dean: Another piece of advice that stood out to me is networking. So many of the graduates in the Westwood 100 talked about how they found their dream job or made career connections by networking with other Westwood students, faculty, Westwood graduates, employers affiliated with Westwood academic programs and others associated with the College. These relationships they built while they were students paid huge dividends later on, and all current Westwood students should take advantage of those networking opportunities.
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Was anything surprising as you read through the Westwood 100 profiles?
Dean: This isn't surprising, but it did stand out to me. Many Westwood graduates have gone on to own their own business after they earn their degree. That's not surprising because so many of our students are self-starters who, in many cases are the first in their families to attend college. Those qualities that led them to choose Westwood and earn their degree end up being the same kinds of qualities that make a great entrepreneur. Another thing that stands out is how many of the Westwood 100 talked about how they are working in their dream jobs and got that job right after graduating. Those are inspiring stories, and it makes me proud to be part of an educational institution that makes that possible.
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