Where Designing Your Degree Can Take You

At Whittier College, designing your own major makes it possible to also design the path to your career.

Students in the Whittier Scholars Program work closely with professors to design a personalized plan of classes and off-campus experiences, such as internships and research, that match their ambitions. Scholars have gone on to work in everything from media to medicine—and most add graduate school to their impressive resumes, as well.

Here are just a few of the program’s graduates and their successful transition from college to a career.

Journalism: Yasmin Khorram ’10

Yasmin is a San Francisco-based field producer for CNBC, covering the tech industry.

Whittier College was an important part of her journey to get there. As a senior, she started the first television station on campus. It was that drive and innovation that propelled her to a series of high-demanding positions in broadcast journalism, including work at CNN. Ten years from graduating, she is an Emmy-nominated producer.

“I never wanted to be anything but a journalist. Whittier College, specifically the Scholars Program, supported me in creating a path to make that possible.”

Medicine: Megan Maguire-Marshall ’10

As a first-year, Megan knew two things: She wanted to be a doctor, and she knew medical schools were looking to admit well-rounded students, or those from majors beyond the physical and biological sciences.

Thanks to the Whittier Scholars Program, she designed a path to medical school that both fulfilled pre-med course requirements and allowed her to explore her interests in the humanities and social sciences. After graduating, she entered medical school and now practices family health medicine at Methodist Charlton Medical Center in Texas.

“This program helped me articulate my interests and passions during my medical school interviews and shaped the way I approach learning. I built skills and responsibility for independent and collaborative learning, both essential in medical school.”

Social Media: David Castro-Jimenez ’18

As a social media manager for FOX, promoting shows like Bob’s Burgers, David knows how to be creative. He began honing that skill when he chose to design his own marketing major.

From the beginning, his advisors encouraged him to think outside the box of a pre-established course of study and choose his own path—one based on his own goals, and how best to achieve them. Along the way, David benefitted from an internship that gave him necessary skills for his job search, such as public relations experience and stronger interpersonal skills.

“The Whittier Scholars Program encourages its students to be expressive and add personality to one’s curriculum/work and that has definitely translated in my current position. Working in social media I work to give a brand a personality in a creative and fun way.”

Urban Planning: Joey Zou ’16

Joey’s passion for urban planning took her far beyond Whittier, to say the least. The Whittier Scholars program is geared to getting students into career-building experiences.

In Joey’s case, her Whittier Scholars advisor knew of her passions and helped connect her with a metropolitan studies internship in Berlin. Soon after, Joey whisked off to study abroad in Copenhagen, designing her own projects in a studio course. Later, she flew to the other side of the globe to study international business in China and Hong Kong. Joey was able to integrate all these courses and experiences into her self-designed requirements.

Joey returned to the United States with the knowledge and skills to earn an internship at an urban design firm, and continued to study the subject at Cornell University’s graduate program. After valuable experience at New York City, Joey is now a manager at the Centre for Livable Cities in Singapore.