Jamie Alvarez
Compton College alumna Jamie Alvarez received three job offers before she graduated
in December 2023 with her bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from California
State Polytechnic University, Pomona. “Attending a career fair during my last semester
at Cal Poly Pomona proved very fruitful in my job search, I ended up securing two
different positions, one in manufacturing and one in rail transportation!”
She first gained valuable experience as a student during an internship in manufacturing
at Huhtamaki, a global company that produces consumer goods packaging and food service
products. She was hired there upon graduation to complete two projects she was working
on. She helped update older machinery to more modern technology and worked with the
machine operators to ensure they were up to speed on the operating programs for the
machines. The second project involved designing a new pedestrian pathway system for
this very large plant facility with a high volume of forklift and foot traffic. “This
project was all about ensuring the safety of employees. I designed new safety rails
for pedestrian paths and helped select gate and forklift sensors that close doors
or pathways so no pedestrians can cross between forklifts on the move,” she said.
During the career fair and interview process, the second company Wabtech Corporation,
a global provider for the freight and transit rail sectors, was interested in Alvarez
and was willing to delay her hire date by six months so she could finish the projects
at Huhtamaki. “The majority of my experience to this point has been in manufacturing
and I wanted to complete my work commitment to Huhtamaki where I had interned for
a year prior to my employment there,” said Alvarez. “At the same time, I have always
been interested in working with things that move and propel forward, so the offer
from Wabtech to work with trains was very exciting.” She begins her new career in
rail transportation in June 2024, where she will initially be getting up to speed
with her understanding of locomotive engineering, helping the maintenance department
select parts for the trains, and working on design projects, as well as taking on
number crunching and calculations.
Given these accomplishments, it is hard to believe that Alvarez was challenged by
mathematics when she arrived at Compton College in 2020. She was introduced to the
college’s STEM Center for tutoring and extra academic support. She proudly served
as STEM Club president for two years.
Through the STEM Center, she secured two internships – NASA’s Community College Aerospace
Scholars (NCAS) and the 2019-2020 Caltech Aerospace Mentorship Program. As one of
only 10 people selected for the Caltech Program, she and fellow mentees met once per
month at the Graduate Aerospace Laboratories at Caltech (GALCIT) throughout this year-long
program to learn from current Aerospace Graduate Student STEM Fellows. Her participation
in these extracurricular programs paired with her education gave her a solid foundation
in hands-on engineering fundamentals and real-world applications that have led her
to the career success she is now experiencing.
“Compton College’s STEM Center and STEM Club were a godsend for me,” Alvarez said.
“I gained leadership opportunities as STEM Club president, received hands-on engineering
experience through internships/scholarship programs, and was motivated by STEM Center
Program Specialist Lorena Fonseca who wanted nothing more than to see all STEM students
succeed. She pushed us because she knows what we are capable of, she motivated us,
and she worked with us to ensure we were accepted to our transfer universities of
choice.”
