Featured Alumni: Amanda Whitten

Amanda graduated from Bakersfield’s West High School in Bakersfield in June 2000, and was admitted to the 2nd SFHC Cohort (under the direction of the late Dr. Stephen Rodemeyer) in Fall of that year.  In May 2004, she graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in Political Science and B.S. in Criminology.  Subsequently, she attended the UC Davis Law School and earned her Juris Doctorate in 2007.  As a partner in the law firm Bryant & Whitten for the last 13 years, she has worked as an attorney representing employees in workplace discrimination and harassment lawsuits.  She lives in Fresno with her two cats (Guinness and Gatsby), is an avid reader, a marathon runner, a travel addict, a diehard fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers, and a New York Times Bestselling Author (of a three-page essay in an anthology!).  She has also been a SFHC financial supporter.

Reflecting on her time at SFHC, Amanda wrote the following: “Twenty-one years ago, I was picked by a selection committee to be part of the second cohort of Smittcamp Family Honors College Scholars.  This year, I had the honor of reading applications, and selecting a few of the students who would join our ranks.  It was a humbling experience that made me reflect on how someone else’s faith in me two decades ago shaped my life. 

I grew up in Bakersfield.  My family lived under the federal poverty line.  My parents wanted badly for my two sisters and me to go to college and encouraged us, but were really naïve about how it worked and what we needed to get there.  They knew I was a good student with big dreams, but had no money and no idea how to help me make use of my potential.  My school was in a poorer area of town and most of my fellow graduates weren’t even thinking about college or leaving Bakersfield.  I was.  And my grades and SAT scores were good enough to gain me admission to Berkeley and UCLA that year, as well as Fresno State.  I think often about what would have become of me if I’d gone to one of those bigger name schools instead.  My high school counselor was incredulous when I turned them down for this program no one had ever heard of.  But I trusted my gut, and it did not fail me.  Now as a 38-year old lawyer, who has built a business and traveled the world, I can appreciate that the Honors program quite literally changed my life.  I took it very seriously that I had the power to do the same for the students whose applications I read this month. 

In Fall 2019, during a memorial service for the late Dr. Rodemeyer, our beloved Director, Dr. Robert Ware, the Founding Director of the Honors College, reflected on their conversations when they were creating this program.  It was fascinating – all the components they thought about – how to attract bright students and convince them to stay in the valley, how to engage them with the community through service, how to add depth to their education with general ed classes that crossed disciplines and weekly colloquiums that encouraged thought and discussion.  I realize now that I, and the hundreds of other alumni of this program, are the fully realized expression of their dream.  And I, for one, am so grateful they picked me.”