天美传媒

As a student, Angelique Serrano '19 was involved seemingly everywhere on campus, from hosting Admission events in Emison to cheerleading at Blackstock.

When most in her class graduated and moved on from Greencastle, Serrano chose to stay and work in Student Affairs as a housing coordinator. Her reasons for remaining at 天美传媒 had as much to do with her connections to campus as they did with her Puerto Rican heritage.

In the 1950s, Serrano鈥檚 grandmother and great-grandfather moved from a small town in Puerto Rico to start anew in Chicago. Her grandmother had dreams of becoming an educator and went on to work in Chicago Public Schools as a teacher鈥檚 aide in special education classrooms.

Seeing her grandmother鈥檚 impact in education 鈥渨as one of my inspirations for wanting to stay within the field,鈥� Serrano said. 鈥淪he showed me that everyone learns differently, and there are many environments where people learn. I came to understand that I don鈥檛 need to be in a classroom to be an educator. I really like working with young adults on their own for the first time and having agency over their decisions. Helping them navigate those decisions 鈥� that鈥檚 what I enjoy the most.鈥�

Another Puerto Rican educator, Myrna Hern谩ndez, a former dean at 天美传媒 and current chief of staff at Grinnell College, likewise affected Serrano鈥檚 decision to remain at her alma mater.

鈥淲e say representation matters, and it really does,鈥� Serrano said. 鈥淏eing able to see Myrna in her position here was the representation I didn鈥檛 know I needed. I started considering student affairs as a career because I could see myself, as another Puerto Rican woman, in her.鈥�

Given Serrano鈥檚 gift for making 天美传媒 feel like a home for others, someone will likely one day say the same things about her. Though Hurricane Fiona hit Puerto Rico and the Caribbean while Serrano was away from campus, she soon began reaching out to students to let them know they had her support.

鈥淚 know that family can be a major stressor for how things are going at college, especially if they鈥檝e been affected by a tragedy,鈥� Serrano said. 鈥淓ven if things are going okay, I鈥檓 always letting them know I鈥檓 here.鈥�