JEFF FITZWATER

Information For Columbia College

Faculty Web Page

Degrees and Credential

Master Of Arts in Education/Counseling, California State University, Stanislaus

Pupil Personnel Services (School Counseling) Credential, CSU, Stanislaus

Bachelor of Arts, Political Science (with concentrations in Public Administration and Teaching), California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo

Experience Working At Columbia College

Hello, my name is Jeff Fitzwater!

I have been an Instructor with Columbia College since December 1997. I teach guidance classes such as Occupational Exploration (Guidance 101) and Job Search and Interviewing Strategies (Guidance/Business 25), and I co-instruct Career Tools For Excellence (Interdisciplinary Studies 170) with Patricia Harrelson. Additionally, I instruct several other Business short courses (Business Administration 170) such as Time Management, Dealing With Difficult People, and Hiring Employees.

I am also a Counselor with the Columbia College Counseling Office (Manzanita 14), where I assist students with scheduling and course selection, education and transfer planning, career awareness and research, and with resolving personal concerns.

Other Counseling Experience

Prior to counseling at Columbia, I have been an Career Counselor with Mother Lode Job Training in Sonora. While there I taught job search, career planning and self-esteem building workshops, handled career assessment, and assisted clients who were seeking education and employment with researching career options, making decisions and setting realistic, achievable and satisfying vocational training and employment goals. Following their vocational training, I also assisted my clients by guiding them through the job search process to meaningful and rewarding employment.

Human Resources Background

Before working at Mother Lode, I served as a Personnel Manager for a medium sized business where I handled recruiting, hiring and a wide variety of personnel related administrative tasks. This aspect of my background helps me to share an employer’s perspective with students in my Job Search and Occupational Exploration classes.

Career Planning and Placement

I have also worked for two large community colleges in the San Jose area (West Valley College and De Anza College) in Career Planning and Job Placement. In these positions, I assisted students with career research and decision making, educational planning, job search activities and securing part-time and career-related Cooperative Education, Work Experience and post-graduation job placement. During this time I had the opportunity to work closely with many large employers as I administered the Co-op Education Program, and set up Career Fairs and Employer Recruitment Days at the colleges.

Personal Statement and Other Information

I am very happy to be teaching and counseling at Columbia College. I sincerely enjoy working closely with students, providing them with ideas, information, guidance, insight, motivation and encouragement to assist them with charting a positive and rewarding path through college, career, and life.

On a personal level:

· I am a husband, and a father of three sons.

· I enjoy nature and the outdoors and express this through hiking, backpacking, mountain bike riding and canoeing.

· I am an avid caver, exploring the subterranean depths below our local (and some not-so-local!) marble and limestone formations. I also enjoy exploring the surface of these formations for evidence leading to the discovery of new cave openings.

· Also, I am in partnership with several hives of bees in a honey making operation. I don’t know which is more accurate: to call me a beekeeper or to call my bees a people-keeper. Maybe a little of both.

· In my spare time I like reading about science, history, current events, technology, psychology/self-help and spiritual thought.

· I can often be found working on a home repair or construction project, or an auto repair endeavor.

· I enjoy listening to a wide variety of music (classic rock, pop, folk, soul, traditional/world and classical, among others).

· I have even been known to scratch out a tune or two on the fiddle.