June 11, 2024 Carina Salazar: Educator Making an Impact
This quarter’s Educator Spotlight Series shines the light on Carina Salazar, Executive Director for Career and Immersive Experiences at the Career Center. The Career Center is located in the 2nd and 3rd floors of the Strathmore building on the corner of Westwood Plaza. On the outside, the building features masonry reminiscent of classic buildings in academia. Inside, the space offers the bright, crisp details of a professional workspace. The Career Center is a hub for all aspects of career development for UCLA students.
Carina brings over 24 years of UCLA experiences that have shaped her development as a leader and mentor to many students and staff. Carina shared how she believes every student’s story matters and how a connection with each student and staff she engages is paramount. She explains that even at her administrative level, she is still a counselor at heart.
As I was interviewing her team, I felt the influence of her leadership and the positive impact she has made. Yennifer Padilla, who has been working with Carina for over a year as her executive assistant, explains that Carina has been influential with guiding her career development as a mentor and now friend. Yennifer states, “Carina makes everyone feel important, she’s not too big to listen.” Upon sharing that feedback with Carina, she smiled warmly and quoted Maya Angelou: “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did. But people will never forget how you made them feel.”
Carina has made a direct impact over three areas which she currently oversees—the Career Center, the Transfer Student Center and the First To Go Program. The Career Center provides education, advising, workshops, and events that support students in their developmental journey. The Transfer Student Center uses a strengths-based approach thatfocuses on the rich attributes that transfer students bring to UCLA. Over 44% of transfer students are first-generation students and 20% are non-traditional students, creating additional layers of meaningful experiences prior to entering university. The First To Go program promotes campus involvement and visibility for first-generation college students, with a focus on the retention and success.
To advance all of the areas under her supervision, Carina falls back on her background and experiences. Her roots from rural Mexico, where she and her family emigrated from, lay the foundations of her identity, her leadership and her journey. She occupies multiple intersecting spaces at UCLA: first-generation college student, transfer, immigrant, woman of Mexican heritage, and more. She says she is able to be an effective leader and mentor because of her diverse background, and the different parts of her identity allow her to connect with students as individuals who have unique lived experiences.
No matter what uphill battle she faces, Carina’s way forward is to continue fighting to bring down barriers that impede students, whether they need help searching for opportunities or finding community.
“You cannot allow fear to stop you from trying new things,” says Carina.
The Career Center, Transfer Student Center, First To Go Program, and all other spaces that Carina has managed are proof of her tenacity and ambition. Her journey has brought positive impact both directly and indirectly to multiple classes of students over the lifetime of her career. As an integral member of Student Affairs, she hopes to continue to grow the pool of resources available to students who seek assistance.
Visit the Career Center online at career.ucla.edu and on Instagram at @uclacareercenter. Carina Salazar can be contacted via email at questions@career.ucla.edu