Lindsey Martin / Assistant Photo Editor

Even though he graduated last spring, Phill Guarnotta still has strong ties to San Diego State.

Guarnotta, who is a surf instructor at the Mission Bay Aquatic Center, has taken advantage of an Associated Students policy that allows recent graduates to stay employed by A.S. for up to six months.

Although the 25-year-old television, film and new media production grad had plans to pursue a career in Los Angeles after graduation, he remains in San Diego to work for the organization that hired him in June 2006.

“The thing is no one is hiring and the economy is just so bad that I’m not getting lucky enough,” Guarnotta said.

Like many students, Guarnotta was not even aware of the policy until he was informed by Kevin Straw, the instructional manager for the aquatic center. Guarnotta was happy to keep the job he loves a little longer.

“It’s nice having that job security,” Guarnotta said. “I know that I have a job waiting for me until I find a more steady job career-wise rather than work-wise.”

While the policy is not new, A.S. Associate Executive Director Christina Brown said that more graduates have taken advantage of it.

“It’s not a new policy, but I do think it’s one that’s being utilized more and more, especially in tough times when it’s harder for students to get jobs,” Brown said. “I think it’s become an even more valuable option for graduating students.”

Brown said until recently, many people were not even aware of the six-month grace period. In fact, she said that throughout the last six to eight months, she has been receiving more and more calls from supervisors asking if they can keep their graduating staff members.

“The majority of students, when they graduate, they leave,” Brown said. “But the ones that stay haven’t yet found a new home or a full-time job. They’re doing a good job, so we help them by extending their employment.”

Tracie Ugamoto, an office assistant, also graduated last spring with a degree in communication and Spanish. The 23-year-old said six months is a perfect amount of time for graduates to get adjusted to life after college.

“Six months is a good enough grace period to kind of figure out what you’re going to do,” Ugamoto said. “I don’t think it needs to be longer. In some cases, depending on the person, you don’t want to get too comfortable. You don’t personally grow because it is a student job and you’re not a student anymore.”

Ugamoto, who has held multiple A.S. positions since her freshman year, said that working for A.S. has helped her acquire valuable skills. Through her experience, she has learned that she would like to find a job in student affairs or attain some other administrative position.

“I have fun coming to work,” she said. “I really enjoy and look forward to coming to work.”
Brown said A.S. employs more than 1,200 students throughout the year, including recent grads. Students are employed in all the A.S. facilities, including the Aztec Center, Aztec Recreation Center, Viejas Arena, Children’s Center, Mission Bay Aquatic Center and The Daily Aztec.

A.S. President Tyler Boden said A.S. is committed to students and that the six-month policy is just one more way the organization supports them.

“I think it’s a good thing,” Boden said. “I think not too many students take advantage of it. It’s there to assist students in a time when they don’t necessarily have some other path coming out of college.”

Boden believes the policy does not take away jobs from current students, too.
“While not every student who works for A.S. takes advantage of that six-moth policy, the ones that do really need it,” he said. “I don’t think that it affects our ability to employ other students.”

The budget cuts have not affected student jobs either. In fact, Brown said A.S. has not had to cut any positions despite the budget cuts. Instead, A.S. has made cuts in other areas, including administrative costs. The organization has also taken steps to save money by going paperless and by implementing several solar projects.

“We’re trying to focus on as much as we can to not cut programming or jobs from students,” Brown said. “We just have a huge commitment to students within our organization. Our core philosophy is to support students. We’re student-run as well.”