Issue 9
2010 Excellence in Education Awards Announced
Westwood College recently announced the winners of the 2010 Excellence in Education Awards with special congratulations going to top winners Ovetta Peete, who received the President's Award, and Kathleen Fon, who was awarded the National Faculty of the Year Award.
The prestigious President's Award recognizes a faculty member who stands out through contributions in teaching, community service and recruitment. Peete is a faculty member in the School of Justice at the Chicago River Oaks Campus. She began her work with Westwood while also working as a police officer with the Chicago Police Department, where she received numerous honorable mentions and department awards and held positions in several divisions.
Fon has been a full-time faculty member for the School of Design at the Los Angeles Wilshire Campus since 2000. She was recognized with the National Faculty of the Year Award for encouraging cooperation and communications among students and honoring teaching styles that focus on launching students' careers.
To see which faculty members from your campus received awards, check out the full list of winners here.
Ear to the Ground
Career Services and Employer Relationship Managers Link Grads with Local Employers
Last fall, Westwood made a significant investment in its Career Services team, including the addition of a new team of nine Employee Relationship Managers (ERMs).
"The primary goal of the ERM team is to build the Westwood brand with employers within their regions," said Martha Nonnemacher, system vice president for Career Services, who oversees the program. "As an extension of the Career Services team, their short-term goals are to provide career opportunities for graduates."
Its success is evident. Since the August 2009 launch, the ERM team has placed more than 165 graduates/students in new careers–74 of whom were placed in the March 2010 term.
Nonnemacher said the ERMs function much like relationship managers, spending the majority of their time in the field developing long-term relationships with employers who could benefit most from the skills of Westwood College graduates.
Miller Simmons is the ERM for the Virginia market. He has helped build successful relationships with several companies, including Allied Barton, a security company which employs Westwood criminal justice graduates, and La-Z-Boy Furniture, which has employed Westwood interior design graduates.
Nonnemacher said Westwood's ERM program is more progressive than traditional schools and even most career colleges. "We have dedicated people in each market working long hours to find job opportunities for our students," she said.
While the top priority for Westwood ERMs is to find employment for graduates in the current accrediting year, they will do whatever it takes to help students succeed. For example, in California, where the market for gaming graduates is particularly tight, ERMs have helped students and graduates find internship opportunities which have led to full-time employment.
"We never give up on a student or graduate!" said Nonnemacher. "The ERM program directly supports our mission and our commitment to our students."
To learn more about Westwood Employee Relationship Managers, contact your local Career Services department.
Job Tip
Be prepared to answer questions like these in a job interview:
- Tell me about a time when you worked effectively under pressure.
- Give me an example of a time when you had a conflict with a co-worker. What did you do to resolve it?
- Give me an example of how you creatively solved a problem.
- Tell me about a time when you had to adapt to a difficult situation.
Click here for more sample interview questions.
Graduate Profile
Crystal Green, 2010 Visual Communications Graduate
Just a few years ago, Crystal Green was a burned-out employee working two jobs to make ends meet and had gone just about as far as she could, career-wise, with only a high school education.
Green's interest was piqued by a Westwood graduate portfolio commercial she saw early in 2007, and she decided to check out the program at Westwood College Online. "I was very impressed with the amount of involvement and caring towards the students from the instructors," she says.
A highlight of Green's time at Westwood was her involvement with the Design Online Magazine, first as its creative director and then as a graduate contributor.
With guidance and inspiration from Career Services personnel and an online workshop that encouraged networking, Green reached out to her community and now works part time as an in-house contract designer. In addition, she has also built a web design freelance business.
Green's advice to upcoming online students at Westwood is to utilize all the support systems it has to offer. "Even though we are an 'online community,' everyone from the instructors to the wonderful staff members in Career Services genuinely cares about your success, both in your studies and in your field."
Campus Briefs
Annandale Campus Student Lauded in Awards Ceremony
Earlier this month, Gabriel Fondaumiere, Westwood College criminal justice student, was presented with a special recognition award by the Annandale Chamber of Commerce for his work with the Chamber's Fall Festival. He organized 30 Westwood volunteers into work groups to support all aspects of the festival. At the ceremony, Chamber President Marv Rodney described Fondaumiere as a person who has "good humor, grace, valiant leadership, as well as a recognizable dedication to both the Chamber and to the spirit of community service."
People Helping People
More than twenty-five Dallas Campus Westwood staff, faculty and students spent a Saturday recently to help repair a home owned by a 65-year-old widower, who lives alone, survives on social security and is on oxygen. Westwood partnered with the City of Dallas Housing Department in the "People Helping People" program to kick off one of three scheduled home repair projects.
The project served as an important learning experience for the students. Not only were they able to practice classroom skills in a real-world situation, they completed and were certified in a "Safe Work Practice Training" course.
On the Net
Westwood Students Win Ten ADDY® Awards for Graphic and Creative Design
Westwood students recently celebrated a successful awards night with the Orange County, California Ad Club, a chapter of the American Advertising Federation (AAF), by taking home a total of 10 ADDY Awards for their work in graphic and creative design.
During the Ad Club's annual awards night, Westwood students walked away with two of the top awards, with Toni Wycoff receiving the 2010 Academic Achievement Award honoring academic talents in advertising-related disciplines and Efren Pena receiving the Best of Show Award for his poster titled "Predator." In addition, Westwood students also received two gold, four silver and two bronze awards.
To see a video from the evening, visit Orange County Advertising Federation's Facebook page.
Westwood College Online
Design | Online Magazine
Westwood College Online School of Design students have done it again! The third issue of the magazine, written and produced by graduating students, serves as a platform to showcase their talents and work to potential employers.
Career Services and Admissions use the magazine to demonstrate to potential employers and students the types of projects and quality of work produced by the School of Design students.
Download this newsletter as a PDF