Czarina Gutierrez is a first-generation student who came to Cal Lutheran in 2012. She is the oldest of four children, as well as the oldest grandchild which means she is the first out of them all to go to college. Czarina was part of Student Support Services for her four years during undergrad and a student leader for two as well as being an RA for a year and playing intramural sports on campus such as flag football and indoor and outdoor soccer. Coming into CLU she was shy and timid, but throughout the years she gained more confidence and got more involved. Some quick fun facts about Czarina: she played soccer for fifteen years, she’s a big Disney fan, a huge fan of music, she’s currently self-teaching herself ukulele and the piano. She enjoys listening to Justin Bieber, Sam Smith, and Bruno Mars. Get to know more about Czarina Gutierrez in this article!
Her Campus Cal Lutheran: What did you major in at CLU and why?
Czarina Gutierrez: I came in as an Exercise Science major because I wanted to be a doctor. After taking the first few classes, I realized it wasn’t for me, I don’t like blood. I had no idea what I wanted to do after that. I took Intro to Criminal Justice, General Psychology, etc. and I ended up choosing Communications. Originally I wanted to have an emphasis in film and television production, I wanted to make movies and get into that business and I actually did some work with film and stuff, but I never thought it was stable enough so I decided to go for general communications so I could have more options when choosing work. I had always known I wanted to go to graduate school for counseling so I figured it would be a good start for me.
HCCLU: What’s your favorite memory from CLU?
CG: Being a part of SSS, because there were so many opportunities and memories that I gained from that. I met so many people and created connections with people I still talk to to this day. SSS helped build my confidence, if I didn’t have that I wouldn’t have been as involved as I was.
HCCLU: What professor inspired you the most during your undergrad?
CG: Dr. Wigginton. I met with her a lot, even though she wasn’t in my major, she was in my Spanish minor. She was very approachable, super helpful, I felt like I could go to her for questions not only for her class, but for my education and personal life. I still talk to her once in a while. She has a lot of knowledge. She has pushed me to work here on campus and to work on my masters degree.
HCCLU: What’s something you wish you knew during your undergrad?
CG: It’s okay to not have it all figured out, everything will fall into place when it is meant to be. You may have an idea to what it’s supposed to look like, but it’s okay if your original plan isn’t the same as how it ends up. You learn so much about yourself during undergrad, you end up figuring out who and what you want to be.
HCCLU: What’s a piece of advice you’d like to give to current undergrad students?
CG: Don’t be afraid to get involved and step out of your comfort zone. I was pretty shy coming in and I didn’t get as involved as I wanted to my first semester. Once I got involved, I got more opportunities.
HCCLU: Who do you look up to and why?
CG: My parents. Both of them work really hard to support my siblings and I, to give us a better life than they had. Their hard work inspires me to work hard for myself and my family in the future. They have also taught me that hard work pays off. If you keep working hard you’ll get to where you want to be in life.
HCCLU: What’s your job now and why did you decide to apply for it?
CG: I am an articulation officer which means I basically look at catalogs from other colleges and universities and I determine what will count for some of our requirements here. I create articulation requirements for students for when they transfer. I work with faculty, especially department chairs, to determine what’s adequate enough for the classrooms. I work T2CLU, transfer to CLU, which is pre-orientations for transfer students to come. They get to meet with faculty and the department they hope to major in, get their schedules planned, and meet with offices such as the business office and financial aid. It really helps them get ready to attend this school. I chose this job because I felt it was a good starting point to get my foot in the door, to get experience.
HCCLU: What has working here taught you?
CG: What you put into your work is what you’re going to get out. The harder you work the more that work will get recognized. Working at CLU, especially, all the events they have for staff and faculty, it helps with making connections and helps you learn more and build your own skill set.
HCCLU: Why did you decide to go back to school?
CG: I wanted to help open more opportunities for myself. Having that masters degree will only open more opportunities, it will help me obtain my overall career goal which is to work for a program like SSS or work with students with disabilities. It’s important to have this education to support that, to get those extra opportunities and to provide myself with more knowledge for those areas. I’m very interested in the field and I want to be able to understand and continue to learn more from it and the professors.
HCCLU: Now that you’re in the grad program, can you tell me a little bit about that?
CG: I’m in the Graduate School of Education getting my masters in Counseling and College Student Personnel. I honestly think it’s great, it’s a whole different experience. Grad school is a lot more focused on what you want to do, once you know exactly what you want to do in life, your grad program focuses on that. Taking these classes helps me realize more about the work that I do, I get a clearer understanding of the students I work with and the ways in which I can help them. My biggest take away is being able to apply what I learn in my classes to my work.
HCCLU: Do you have any advice for students who are considering grad school?
CG: I would say to realize that it’s okay to take a break, a gap year. I took a gap year and during that year I was working here, building that experience. It was me realizing if this was something that I really wanted to do. Take that year, or however long it takes.