I’m Christina Hoang and I was in SWEP for two years, during the 11th and 12th grade. In my junior year, I worked at a clothing store, where I folded clothes and provided customer service. The following year, I worked at a nonprofit named Juma Ventures and did office work such as data entry and filing.
Juma Ventures had a huge influence on my life. Everyone at my worksite was so welcoming, friendly and nice. One of my coworkers actually persuaded me to attend the college that I am at right now (I was deciding between San Francisco State University and San Jose State University, and she was able to give me lots of information on SJSU), and that’s a decision I am glad I made.
I was able to talk to my supervisors at Juma Ventures very easily and whenever there’s a job opportunity, my old supervisor (Beth) keeps me in mind and calls me to inform me that there is an opening position. My favorite part of being in SWEP was being around people who supported me and people who were very insightful and knowledgeable. I enjoyed every second working at Juma Ventures and I would not trade that experience for anything.
SWEP helped me gain work experience and it helped me build my resume. It definitely gave me an advantage over other peers that applied for the same job (because I was able to get office experience through SWEP) and it is the main reason why I have my current on campus job at school.
Now, I am 19 years old and a sophomore at San Jose State University studying Business Administration: Accounting. I enjoy being outdoors so I like taking photos, hiking, and sightseeing. I enjoy music very much so I’m usually spending countless hours listening to music or trying to pick up a new song on the ukulele.