Enchanted<\/a>, a Rhode Island-based event management brand launched by URI alumna and former CSLD student Jordan Cruz that offers event planning and virtual project management services.<\/p>\n\n\n\nIn today\u2019s feature, we find out what inspired Andrade-Fonseca to pursue a career in leadership and why URI offers the perfect work environment for those who are fully invested in higher education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What led you to want to pursue a career helping students and specifically guiding student leaders on their path beyond college?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\u201cI attended Bryant University for college. While there, I discovered my passion for working in higher education and creating spaces for underrepresented student populations through my work in the PWC Center for Diversity & Inclusion and the Center for Student Leadership & Involvement. Without truly knowing it at the time, this experience as a student leader emphasized the importance to me of integrating social justice into leadership styles and created my commitment to fostering diverse, inclusive, and engaging learning environments for students. I wanted to pay it forward and be an advocate and resource to others like the ones I had during my time at Bryant.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After spending some time working in the MSSC and the Women\u2019s Center, what led you to pursue this new role?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\u201cI interned in the CSLD in my second last of my graduate program here at URI, the College Student Personnel Program. I enjoyed my experience being an intern here and it opened my eyes to a new level of student affairs work that I hadn\u2019t considered professionally before. My work in the MSSC and the Women\u2019s Center was something I had always set out to do as a higher education professional. I always wanted to work in the DEI space. It was what I set out to do. However, when the position opened in the CSLD, I knew it was an opportunity I couldn\u2019t pass up to try something different for my career trajectory.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What are some of your goals in this new role at URI?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\u201cI want to continue to learn and grow the CSLD as much as possible and continue to work with our students to contribute to their development as leaders once they leave URI.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As one of many who\u2019ve come back to URI to work after earning a degree here, how would you best describe the working culture and your overall experience at URI?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\u201cIt truly is a family here at URI. I have found a community here, which has made it such an easy decision to continue here after my graduate degree and going into my second professional position on campus. Everyone is willing to help each other out and lend a hand.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
URI’s new coordinator for the Center for Student Leadership Development brings a wealth of experience working with students and making education more equitable and accessible for all Nov. 25, 2025 Victoria Andrade-Fonseca, the University of Rhode Island\u2019s new coordinator for the Center for Student Leadership Development, has found a warm, welcoming home at her alma […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5297,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[13],"class_list":["post-3509","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/student-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3509","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/student-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/student-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/student-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5297"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/student-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3509"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/student-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3509\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3512,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/student-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3509\/revisions\/3512"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/student-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3509"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/student-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3509"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/student-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3509"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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