With a BBA from Plaza College comes a Promotion

By Professor Jonathan Howle

 

2011 has been a great year for Plaza College graduate Jesenia Diaz. Not only did she win two major awards at the Graduate Awards ceremony in June, she graduated with high honors from the BBA program. Then, due to her prestigious degree, she received a major promotion at her job, and today, is a Program Administrator. Ms. Diaz spoke to Seasons about her journey to success.

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What degree did you earn at Plaza College?

I graduated from Plaza College with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration

In what ways did you grow in the Plaza BBA program?

Obtaining my Bachelor’s degree was something that I was looking forward to for the past few years. But like everything else in life, there were some obstacles along the way that prevented me from achieving this goal. I finally put my foot down and made the decision to make a little sacrifice and come back to school to earn my Bachelor’s degree. Now that I have completed the BBA program, I am proud of myself for finally achieving my goal. I feel that I am now prepared to take on the role of a supervisor at my current job, and perform my duties to their fullest potential. The courses I have taken at Plaza College have taught me how pursue the role of a supervisor. I feel prepared with everything I have learned at Plaza College.

Which courses, in particular, inspired and helped you the most? Why?

The experience I enjoyed the most was preparing to pursue a role of a supervisor. One of the courses was Supervisory Management. This course presented me with situations that I can face in the real business world. It taught me how to confront these tough situations and how to handle them in appropriate ways. Researching the different scenarios opened my mind to all the difficulties that a supervisor can encounter. The classes made me understand that being a supervisor is more than just a title; it’s a big responsibility. Another course that I am very thankful for was Presentation Techniques. Like many people I have always had a fear of speaking in front of people, and this course helped me overcome some of the fear I would have. Notice how I say some because I believe that all people get butterflies in their stomachs when they are the focus point in a room full of people. But what this course did was teach me how to deal with these fears and techniques that will help me be the best presenter I can be.

What are the most important skills you learned in the BBA program?

The most important skills I learned at Plaza and that now I am using in my new positions are the skills of multitasking, supervising and presentation.

Currently, where are you employed? How did having a BBA help you advance at your job?

At this time I am employed at Community Resources and Services for Children, a not-for-profit agency that provides services to children and adults with developmental disabilities. Community Resources and Services for Children is the first job that employed me when I graduated from Plaza College with my Associate’s Degree. Seven years later, I am still here. In January 2010, I decided to go back to Plaza and earn my Bachelor’s Degree, and this was the best decision I could have made. With my Bachelor’s Degree came a job promotion! This was the best graduation present I could have received. I am now the Program Administrator for one of the programs at the agency and I am very happy and proud of myself for accomplishing something I thought I couldn’t do.

What is your dream job in the business world?

I like to try new challenges, and my dream is to be able to manage a big important company.

What advice can you give current Plaza students?

My advice is to not get discouraged when you think you are not going to be able to move forward. I will be honest: everything was not always easy. One of my most difficult challenges was completing the out-of-class research and staying up until 3:00 in the morning, finishing my assignment. But when I started the Bachelor’s program, I knew that I would have to make a few sacrifices to be able to achieve my goal. And now that I am done, I look back at all the times that I asked myself, “Am I going to be able to do this?” I can now tell myself it was worth it. I made it, and I am so proud of myself.

What was the key to your success at Plaza?

I would have to say that the keys to my success at Plaza were my professors, and most importantly, my family. The professors that were involved in my learning experience at Plaza played such a big role in my achieving my goal. I have always admired the professors at Plaza because they take their time to know their students, and I find this to be very important. It is not like many other schools where they know the student by the last four digits of their social security number. Plaza professors want their students to learn and be successful, and this pushed me to try my best because I knew that they wanted the best for me. But the most important key to my success at Plaza was my family. My family stood by me and encouraged me, letting me know that I could achieve my goals. Whenever I was frustrated and overwhelmed with work from school and my job, they were always there by my side, letting me know that I could do it. Having people around me who believed that I could do it helped me succeed at Plaza.

What will you remember most about Plaza?

What I will never forget about Plaza is the way Plaza makes their students feel like family. Yes, I can say I will never forget how nervous I would get when I had to hand in a portfolio or do a presentation. This is something that I will never forget. But Plaza felt like a second home for me. I will always remember this, and I am going to miss it.