Why I: Rosa Hanco

The NASPA Latinx/a/o Knowledge Community is showcasing the LKC leadership team and members in this series that we call, "Why I." We want to share with our Latinx/a/o community who members of the LKC leadership team are, our roles, and what inspired us to follow our career paths. Our goal is to increase the visibility of not just th eLKC, but to the leaders who make the LKC what is to us all. For questions regarding the "Why I" series, please contact the Communication Co-Chairs, Leonel Diaz ([email protected]) and Rosa Hanco ([email protected]).

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Rosa Hanco is the Assistant Director for Student Life at St. John's University - Staten Island. She is currently the Communications Co-Chair for the Latinx/a/o Knowledge Community.

Why did you join the LKC?

I wanted to establish a connection to other Latina/o professionals since I've never really encountered many in past positions.

(Photo description: This is what Rosa does when not working – either cheering on her alma mater, Rutgers, at a concert, or a show.)

Why did you choose your higher ed career path?

I was blessed with two amazing advisors and one dean that made all the difference in my path to degree completion. Out of those 3, only one was Latina. She was the only one in the dean suite. As I continued attending national student affairs conferences, I didn't see many Latina/os. I realized there needed to be more people that look like me and have my first-gen background in student affairs to truly relate and help students. To this day, this is what keeps me inspired and gets me out of bed most mornings.

Share with us a fun fact.

I am a Duranie. Children of the 80s will understand, lol. I have seen Duran Duran live, over 50 times, at least. I already have a Vegas trip planned in February for their 2 dates at the Cosmopolitan.