August 2015 Student Spotlight

What is the most memorable thing about your time with the School of Public Affairs thus far?
My most memorable time with the School was at orientation. I met dozens of students in the HEA program as well as someone that had already completed the program. I was excited to meet my peers and to put faces to a group of people that would always just be “the number of incoming HEA students for fall 2014.” Being able to meet professors and to speak with them and understand their expectations helped me to feel more at ease with coming back to school and knowing that many of my peers had similar situations as mine was comforting as well.

How have the things you’ve learned as a Higher Ed. Administration candidate helped you approach you job as Student Success Coach at Hostos Community College?
It has made me take a step back and think about all of the stakeholders in all of the decisions that are made. I have become more likely to look to research to solve a challenge or to see how others have handled situations. In addition, the HEA program has reinforced the value to managing time properly.

What role do you serve on the Campus Civility Committee? Can you tell us about a particularly challenging aspect of the work you do?
As a member of the Campus Civility Committee I work with several other people on campus to identify challenges on campus and to create programming that creates awareness of these things. Some of the most challenging aspects of what we do is selecting a topic and finding a way to present it to the student body in an interesting and engaging way. We have found it challenging to select topics that are the most important to educate our student body about as there are many pertinent issues.