Leading by Example: One Student’s Experience as a Career Peer

Paulette Palomares ’24 was setting up her LinkedIn account during her first year of college when she came across a problem—she didn’t have a professional headshot to use as a profile picture.

“My friend Fiana Herscovici offered to take pictures of me, explaining that she had taken professional pictures before,” said Palomares, now a junior marketing major at the Isenberg School of Management at UMass Amherst. “I was hesitant at first but decided to give it a try—and I was super happy with my photos!”

That singular event marked the start of the duo’s extraordinary involvement with the Chase Career Center, where she and Herscovici now work as Career Peers—a program that hires experienced students to assist other Isenberg students with resumes, cover letters, and career planning. But before becoming Career Peers, Palomares and Herscovici took inspiration from their own photography woes and started a business out of the Chase Career Center that provides free headshots for students.

“Some students don’t have the money to pay for headshots and others struggle with deciding what photos would be best to display to their professional network,” Palomares said. “By offering a free photo service, we provided a simple solution to these common issues for our peers.”

Through the service, called StudioU, the pair has taken nearly 3,000 photos and provided professional headshots for more than 300 students. StudioU also conducts photo shoots for campus clubs and organizations, which typically pay a fee commensurate with their budget. She and Herscovici plan on continuing StudioU after they graduate, Palomares said, and have even started working on a succession plan.

When Palomares began her training and service as a Career Peer, she was already more than well prepared. She leverages the hands-on business operations experience she has through StudioU, as well as what she garners as a marketing intern at a creative studio, to help students start on the path to success after college. She said many students seek her out for advice on starting a marketing career.

“To have students specifically choose me to help them, it means so much,” she said. “I try so hard to advise each and every student to the highest capacity because I want to see them succeed. I want to help them reach their goals. To have students come to me and show me that I am truly doing something for them really makes my day.”

Palomares said she approaches every student interaction with enthusiasm, positivity, and humor. She tries to make students comfortable by carefully listening to their concerns and aspirations.

“It’s important for me to be encouraging and empathetic to their circumstances, so they feel like they can come back if they need to in the future,” she said.

Palomares was born in Mexico and moved around a lot while growing up, living in Texas, Massachusetts, and New Jersey. These experiences allow her to connect with her peers on non-career-related issues.

“I have felt plenty of times what it’s like to start anew,” she said. “Sometimes that can be hard, and I understand that on a national and international level. As a Career Peer, I am trained to advise students with career-related things, but I am always open to help in other ways from the perspective of a typical student and as an upperclassman.”

Between mentoring her classmates and studying, Palomares has made sure to save some time for her own professional development. She will intern this summer at Etnetera Motion, a creative agency in the Czech Republic, where she’ll work on idea creation and marketing strategies with the CEO and the company’s executive team.

“I received a lot of support from the Chase Career Center as I pursued this opportunity,” Palomares said. “Specifically, I want to thank Kim Figueroa, who helped me prepare for my interview.”

As Palomares moves into her senior year and prepares to graduate, she said she’s grateful for her time working as a Career Peer at the Chase Career Center.

“It has become such a core part of my college experience, and the relationships I have built there are ones I treasure dearly,” she said. “I am incredibly fortunate and thankful to have gotten the chance to be a part of their culture, experiencing for the first time in my life what it is like to be at a workplace that makes you feel included and appreciated.”