New Grads Join Alumni

Aztec for Life Laela Kollar ('12) is one of almost 10,000 new SDSU alumni.

Laela Kollar admits to being “a little bit” worried about the current job market for new college graduates. The 22-year-old SDSU physiology degree holder from New Jersey plans to attend CSU San Marcos in the fall to get a human resources certification before seeking permanent employment.

“I feel like I need to start from the very beginning so I can learn the fundamentals and the structure of a corporation, start at the bottom and work my way up,” she says. “People assume that you can just get a job right out of college, but you need to learn what you like and what you want to do."

Kollar is one of almost 10,000 SDSU graduates who received their diplomas May 17 – 20 during ceremonies at both the Imperial Valley and San Diego campuses. She believes one way to secure a promising position is to remain flexible with regard to potential employers and their locations.

"Whatever door is opened up for me, I'm going to take it," she says. “I've lived in ten different places, so it doesn't bother me where I go."

FALLING IN LOVE

Fellow graduate Leslie Mansour, on the other hand, prefers to stay in San Diego. The Lancaster native who earned a dual master’s degree in exercise physiology and nutrition already has a job at the Aztec Recreation Center.

Aztec for Life Leslie Mansour ('01, '12) graduated with a dual master's degree.

"I worked myself all the way through my master's program, so I'm just now looking for a specific position with my degree to work in exercise physiology," she says. "Hopefully, I'll be doing some nutritional consulting and looking to work as an exercise physiologist for a company. I would like to stay in San Diego, but I don't know where I will end up."

Where ever they end up, both Mansour and Kollar will stay connected to SDSU as lifetime members of the Alumni Association.

"I was definitely pleased with my education here and I believe the quality of the program in regards to the masters, specifically, was phenomenal,” says Mansour. “I loved my instructors. Our class was very intimate and one of the best experiences, I think, of my life. I definitely built relationships with several of my professors.

“In different courses that I've taken, the different friendships that I've built - both with my classmates and my instructors - really, it's a family. So I guess I'll be staying connected to those family members."

Kollar, who says she will go almost anywhere employment beckons, believes her SDSU education will always serve her well.

"I thought it was amazing that everything I learned here is going to help me for the future,” she says of her SDSU experience. “I fell in love with it.”

View a photo album of Commencement 2012!