My name is Christianna Woodard. I’m from Sacramento, California, but I grew up in San Antonio, Texas. I’m finishing my first degree in management at Prairie View A&M University. Years ago, my grandmother was accepted into Prairie View, but she decided to move to California instead of pursuing school, which ended up being a huge reason why I decided to come here. I attended Prairie View A&M all four years, and I couldn’t imagine going anywhere else.
While here at PV, I had a daughter and was dealing with all the things in life that come with that, which is why I ended up taking a break. I moved back to California with my daughter to work, be with family, and figure out what I really wanted to do in life. This just so happened to be right before COVID started. I saw a lot of the people who I came in with at PV graduating, and I knew I had to come back to finish, if not for me, then for my daughter.
When I returned to Prairie View, I joined the Baptist Student Movement and Gold Members Club. They introduced me to most of the friends I still have today. A lot of my best memories at PV have to do with traveling and singing with BSM; we became a family.
I didn’t have any internships, but every break, I made sure I worked. Finding jobs that I knew would give me different skills and look good on my resume. This helped me compete against other students who had internships. My dean, Dr. Munir Quddus, really pushed supply chain, and I decided to take one SC class as an elective. I ended up loving it and knew this was what I wanted to go into.
I was accepted into the Service Leadership Program with Gexpro Services. It is a two-year rotational program where I will travel around the U.S. and learn the ins and outs of supply chain. I met Gexpro representatives at PV’s Career Fair and went through an extensive interview process, five interviews to be exact. I love to learn, and I’m excited to take the tools that I’ve learned in the classroom and learn how to apply them in real life.
One of the reasons I wanted to attend Prairie View A&M was because of my grandmother. She strongly believed in education, even though she didn’t go to college. Also, the campus is gorgeous. You feel a sense of pride going to PV. It’s really unlike anything else you will ever experience. It’s not something I can put into words. It’s more of a feeling, love. PV has so many resources for students to use, and that’s how I’ve been able to achieve my career goals.
Using all the resources that PV has to offer is what helped me achieve my career goals:
- Going to the Career Fair fully prepared with the knowledge from my professional development classes;
- using the resumes formulated in my business communications class; and
- going to my professors’ offices, asking them for tips and to look over my resume.
These things helped me so much when getting ready for my job search and all of my work-related interviews.
My best advice to current students is #1: GO TO CLASS. I can’t stress that enough. Your curriculum is made to build on top of itself, so when you miss out in the beginning, you really hurt yourself in the end. Use every single resource this University has to offer you. Register for mock interviews, go to Career Services and ask for help with your resume and job search. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Make sure you have a good relationship with your professors. Sometimes, popping by their office and saying hello can go a long way.
Stay focused. Sometimes, we lose sight of what’s most important, but at this time in your life, your education comes first.
Christianna Woodard graduates from Prairie View A&M University this fall with a Bachelor of Business Administration Degree in Management. Click here to view more of this semester’s notable graduates.