Xamagga Whitfield
Xamagga Whitfield has a bit of advice for her fellow students at Fayetteville Technical Community College.
“Take advantage and capitalize on all of the opportunities that the school has to offer,” she says. “Ask questions and ask your instructors, because you just never know who you might meet, or who they might know. Take advantage of these positions and do your best, because it could open a lot of doors.”
Whitfield has the proof. Through FTCC’s Work-Based Learning program, she was able to find a full-time job and a summer internship, which resulted in another job offer.
The 25-year-old Fayetteville native will graduate this summer with an Associate in Business Management: Human Resources Management and plenty of real-world work experience in a field about which she’s passionate.
Whitfield thought she knew exactly what she wanted to do when she graduated from high school and started at a four-year college pursuing a criminal justice degree.
“I thought I loved it,” Whitfield says. “But then I got in it, and I realized that I didn’t love it.”
After a year, Whitfield halted her college career, joining the workforce and eventually discovering a field she does love — human resources.
She enrolled at FTCC to get her degree in two years. As part of the Human Resources Management curriculum, Whitfield participated in the Work-Based Learning program, where her hard work has produced multiple opportunities.
Last summer, she worked an internship with Fayetteville PWC, working as the utility’s first human resources intern.
There was no open position available at the completion of her internship, but months after completing the internship, Whitfield was offered a permanent job with PWC.
In the meantime, Whitfield landed a job with insurance giant State Farm, where she works as a project manager in human resources.
“I really like helping people be the best version of themselves,” Whitfield said. “Being that motivating factor for them in a workplace is great. I’ve received a lot of mentoring, and the owners, bosses and managers that I’ve worked with have shown really strong leadership and wanted me to take the next step. Now that I’m in that position, I want to do the same for other people.”
