Spotlight on UWT Alumni lives during and after college

Alumni graduates reflect on their experience and challenges at UWT and describe how life is going for them now. 

After graduation, students are faced with another important moment in their lives.  They reflect on their experiences, asking themselves if they learned the necessary tools to succeed later in life, find a career in their field of study and support themselves by earning a degree. They navigate through new trials of life and develop strength as they go. 

One of the most exhilarating and memorable moments that students will get to experience is the day they hold their diploma after graduation. Reflecting on all those late nights and long hours of cramming in essays and taking hard exams will make you appreciate the enormous effort and challenges you’ve faced.   

There is a great misconception that the job market is flooded with amazing opportunities for those who earn degrees. Many graduates struggle to find work within their field of study and sometimes must take on multiple jobs to support themselves. Some return to school or try to find work experience to be eligible for their dream job. Either way, there’s a never-ending supply of new challenges to face in life.  

The diverse make-up of UWT students made me want to explore how graduates feel about their experience at college, compared to what their life is like now. 

I interviewed two different UWT alumni of different ages and asked them to reflect on their experience at UWT and what they gained as a student. 

Jeremy Tirador graduated in June 2024 with a bachelor’s degree in computer science and a minor in business data analytics. Within the science, business data analytics uses data to process certain patterns and statistics which can then be optimized and improved for a business or company.  

Q: How is life going with you now? Have you been able to find a job in your career path? 

A: “Right now, I’m still applying to different data analytics and engineering jobs. I currently work at Uber Eats and Door dash while I find a job in my career field. But I also try to use my degree for my current work like tracking the miles I use every day and seeing how much money I earn per mile. That is the whole point of data science, to figure out certain patterns to solve certain problems.” 

Q: Has it been difficult trying to find a job right now? How’s the job market doing for data analytics? 

A. “As far as job searching it’s a bit hit or miss. Either I didn’t have enough experience or didn’t have the proper resume formatting. There was a data analytics entry level job at Microsoft I applied for but didn’t qualify because I didn’t have at least one year of prior experience using the language programmer Python.”  

Q. What is something that you wished you had done while at UWT? 

A. “I do wish that I had done more internships and think that it would have helped get my foot in the door of a job. A friend I know did an internship with Virginia Mason Franciscan Health Hospital and was able to get hired immediately afterwards. In addition, I also wish that I had learned more about research while I was there. I did this my second year but don’t think that I learned enough about computer science using and AI model.  

Q. Do you think that you utilized enough resources at UWT? 

A. I think it would have been nice to utilize them more while I was there. I know that my professor (Andrew Fry) specialized in student outreach for tech students and would help them look for jobs, fix their resume or give them advice. He has a lot of experience with helping prepare students for job hunting and knows what recruiters look for.  

Q. Any advice for current students? 

A. I think that they should try to find what they want to specialize in and hone in on the skill set that will help you in that industry in general. Build up your resume and portfolio in case you need that for jobs. Having at least a personal project or side passion project will help you a lot when you need to show something. Knowing your experiences or life story and being able to translate it into your interview will help you out immensely. If you can know your problem-solving skills and can present them to a recruiter or a place for internships, it will help you out a lot.” 

Sean Jauhner also graduated earlier this year from UWT with a bachelor’s in psychology. He attended UWT for four years immediately after high school.  

Q.  What made you want to major in psychology?  

A. “I liked the human mind and thought that the subject was pretty broad as far as career opportunities to me. I watched this show called Frasier which I really enjoyed a lot. The main character is a psychiatrist, and it seemed so interesting and fun to me. It stuck with me a lot and made me want to pursue the field.” 

Q. Do you feel like you made the right choice as far as your career choice? 

A. I think so, yes. My new job is a behavior technician for children who are on the spectrum at a therapy center. Essentially, I’m pared with a child who I look out for throughout the day and I think it suits me well because I pride myself with how I talk to people.  

Q. What an amazing opportunity. How did you find it? 

A. I was looking for entry level psychology jobs and I just came across it online while job searching and applied.  

Q. For some students who struggle to get a job, what would you say? 

A. I know that some people say that the job market is so hard, but I think as long as you keep at it, you can get something eventually. It was actually one of the first jobs I applied to and got it. I still plan on going to graduate school for psychology but am taking one year for job experience.  

Q. What were you hoping to take away from UWT while you attended? 

A. I really wanted confidence to be able to take on new challenges. I also wanted a worthwhile experience at college. When I was there, I would take a hard class sometimes because I think it would help prepare me for a similar situation in the real world.  

Q. Was there a particular memory that stuck out to you while at UWT? 

A. My first year at UWT was all online. I didn’t feel like I was in college. It felt like I was still in high school. I wanted to be open to it, but it was such a big contrast from doing class in-person versus online. 

Q. Are you happy that you went to UWT? 

A. I would say so. My original plan was to go to the Seattle campus, but I feel like I found the right people here and am better off with them in my life. I’m still talking to them and am grateful that they’re in my life.  

Q. What is your advice to new students? What things should they take advantage of? 

A. I think that you should always be open to new places. Even though it’s not the Seattle campus, there are still amazing professors and classes here. It’s good to get out of your comfort zone and be open to trying new things or new people that you meet.