Meet San Antonio College President, Dr. Naydeen González-De Jesús
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与弗洛雷斯校长坐在一起:会见圣安东尼奥学院院长，博士. Naydeen González-De Jesús
Dr. 纳伊迪恩González-De Jesús于2023年1月加入圣安东尼奥学院(SAC)大家庭，成为该校近一个世纪历史上的第二位女校长. 她在高等教育和外交部门的公共外交方面都有杰出的服务记录. Prior to coming to SAC, 她曾担任密尔沃基地区技术学院(Milwaukee Area Technical College)负责学生成功的执行副校长，并担任美国国务院的公共外交官员.S. 她致力于影响美国驻阿根廷大使馆学生的生活.S. 通过为学生的成功和教师主导的研究创造联系和平台，在国外开展工作.
“Dr. Naydeen” – as she is known around campus – is the 13th president at SAC, 它是德克萨斯州和全国最大的单校区社区学院之一，学生人数接近20人,000 students each semester. In 2021, SAC received the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence, 这是美国对社区大学的杰出成就和表现的标志性认可.
Dr. Naydeen and SAC student and student government leader, Desteny Espinoza, recently took part in A Seat at the Table with Chancellor Dr. Mike Flores for a conversation on their experiences at SAC and what’s ahead.
Featured guests:
- Dr. Naydeen González-De Jesúsr, San Antonio College President
- Desteny Espinoza, San Antonio College Student, SGA President
INTERVIEW HIGHLIGHTS
What attracted Dr. Naydeen and Desteny to SAC
Dr. Naydeen: One of the things that pulled me to SAC is the students we serve looked like me. They sounded like me. Many of them went through many of the things that I went through. I grew up poor, I was raised by a single mom. I am the very first one in my household to pursue a higher education. So for me, 去一个我们所服务的学生是真正得不到服务的人的机构是非常重要的. That’s the reason why I’m here. 我相信教育改变人生的力量以及教育在我生命中的力量. Not only in my life but in the lives that are coming after me — of my kids. 现在，我可以让我的孩子们有机会接受高等教育，并看到他们生活中的成功. It’s all because I decided to pursue a higher education. To me, 我们必须为每一个可能从接受教育中受益的人打开机会之门. That’s the key. That’s the reason why I’m here. 这就是为什么SAC的团队正在尽我们所能确保机会对任何想要追求这些机会的人开放的原因.
Espinoza: It’s a long story but my first interest was the medical field. I was a COVID graduate so that already impacted my life so much, 但我的残疾给我的生活带来了很多不好的影响，我的主要兴趣是医学领域. 我试过不同的机构，我问我是否可以加入他们的项目，但由于我的残疾，很多门都在我面前关上了. 有很多人告诉我去寻找我能做的其他事情，但我很沮丧. The person I always go to is my mom and I told her I’ll just work. … But she told me, “but you love school.” Since I was a little girl, since I was five I used to tell my mom, “I’m going to be a teacher one day.” … She said let’s see what SAC has to offer you. I still remember like it was yesterday. 我参加了摇滚(报名)活动，我问我坐轮椅是否可以，他们说可以. … After that I attended my classes. 我在2021年秋天就被录取了，从那时起我就开始参与其中. 学生生活办公室有活动，我开始注意到这是一个很好的环境. People here are friendly and they are actually reaching out for me. I don’t have to look for them. SAC changed my life, but it’s honestly the truth. It opened opportunities for me not just academically but personally. 我已经能够扩大我的知识和它的经验学习方面. I have been able to build relationships. … San Antonio College is so welcoming, that’s what makes me call it home now.
How SAC is addressing economic and social mobility
Dr. Naydeen: 现在我们正在与阿斯彭学院研究所合作我们现在正在努力 Unlocking Opportunity. Unlocking Opportunity means exactly that. 我们需要评估我们如何将我们的学生从助理过渡到四年制学校，或者我们需要确保他们在SAC完成学业后立即获得家庭维持的工资. Those are the top two things that we’re going to work on. In doing that we need to make sure we are in alignment with the workforce.
Looking ahead at what’s ahead for SAC
Dr. Naydeen: 我们现在所做的一切都是因为德斯特妮和像她这样的学生. 我们的学生适应力强，意志坚定，他们想要更好的生活，他们知道自己应该过上更好的生活，他们也明白教育是关键. With that, the next few years at SAC are amazing. We are energized. We know that our teams are all in for the students we serve. 我们要确保继续扩大我们与商业和工业的伙伴关系，包括K-12. 我们还想确保我们改进了现有的系统和方法，以确保我们的学生能够访问, ensure they can stay, ensure they pass their courses.