After nearly one month of closure, the Career Center has reopened in the F-Building. In November of last year, Career Center technician Toni Horn resigned to pursue a career helping inmates find jobs after being released from jail. School administrators were forced to close the Center because they did not have another staff member available to fill Horn’s shoes.

The Career Center is an office that provides assistance for college-bound students throughout the admissions and financial aid process. Most students also use the Career Center to complete their annual ECAPs.

Assistant principal Joe Greene announced in December that he hired Jocelyn Whiteneck to take over the Center this semester.

Whiteneck, a Northern Ariz. University graduate, double-majored in sociology and strategic communications with an advertising emphasis. She then worked at Mountain View High School as a library assistant.

“With strategic communications, I learned how to advertise, get information out to people, write resumes. I also have a degree in sociology, so I learned how to listen and help people of different backgrounds,” Whiteneck explained. Additionally, said that her time at Mountain View helped her learn how to effectively communicate with high school students.

Whiteneck is excited to share her experience, having gone through the college admissions process herself. 

“I’m looking forward to helping students achieve their goals, and help them find the best way to find colleges, get into colleges, and apply for financial aid,” Whiteneck said.

Many students either don’t know about what the career center can offer, or are somewhat scared of coming in and asking questions “Don’t be scared, I feel like I’m pretty chill. I’m going to try and help you to the best of my ability” Ms. Whiteneck said. 

Within the coming weeks many Arizonan colleges will be visiting the career center. If students are interested in ASU, U of A, or NAU, they are encouraged to stop by and sign up to attend the meeting. Ms. Whiteneck also mentioned, “If any students are interested [in certain schools], I can definitely look into having them come by”.

As expected, new leadership will bring changes to the career center. A new Twitter account will improve the way that the career center can connect to students. Make sure to follow @careercenterphs to stay updated.