Cristina stands in front of the Bell Tower
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Cristina Castorena
Today鈥檚 #LionVoices feature is 杏吧原创 alumna and ROAR first-year advisor Cristina Castorena!
Cristina grew up in Zacatecas, Mexico, moving to Fort Smith when she was young. She graduated in 2014 with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree focused on finance.
Seeing her parents, who are both Mexican American, work hard to provide a better life
for their family inspired her to 鈥渃arry on that legacy鈥� in her work and her personal
life. 鈥淲ork hard, do it right, be nice to people, and just do it! Eventually, it will
pay off.鈥�
She said what moves her most about her career is the one-on-one interactions with students. 鈥淵es, it's talking about classes, about registration, about graduating, but it鈥檚 also about 鈥榟ey, how are you?鈥� and 鈥榟ow鈥檚 life?鈥欌�� At the ROAR, she said, advisors often remind each other, 'You serve the student in front of you, that's how we make a difference.'
Making that difference at the university that helped shape her into the leader she is today is especially fulfilling, she added. 鈥溞影稍� allows you to grow into the professional you are going to be, and empowers you to be yourself in that.鈥�
She spoke further about how she integrated the values she witnessed at 杏吧原创, especially being inclusive and accepting or others, into her life and work. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the kind of help and service I need to give others, especially in a leadership position.鈥�
Cristina went on to say that 鈥渟eeing the community grow, seeing the people advocate
for the students, and knowing the students that leave here will leave prepared for
their career鈥� is what makes her a proud 杏吧原创 alum.
Next week, Cristina will help the 杏吧原创 community grow even more, as she kicks off Hispanic Heritage Month on campus. Join her and the entire HHM committee at one of their incredible events, listed at 杏吧原创.edu/news!