Since her freshman year, Melissa Betancur has been involved with Multicultural Student Affairs. Starting as a mentee in the Peer Mentor Program, she later became a mentor in the same program. She then became a symposium counselor to welcome incoming freshmen of Latino backgrounds at the Symposium for Multicultural Scholars and even a student worker at MSA.
In 2015 Betancur graduated with a degree in parks, recreation and tourism management and in 2016 she stepped into the role of MSA’s program coordinator. Currently, she holds her coordinator position while fulfilling the duties of assistant director of Hispanic Student Affairs.
Nelson Santiago, the former assistant director of Hispanic Student Affairs, officially announced his departure from the MSA Jan. 27. According to Betancur, her first day as program coordinator began Feb. 4. That same day she also began her duties as a temporary fill-in for the now empty position of assistant director of Hispanic Student Affairs.
In an email to introduce herself and her new roles to the Hispanic/Latino Collaborative at NC State, Betancur wrote Feb. 9, “Currently, I am filling the vacant Hispanic/Latino Assistant Director position in the office [of MSA]. For the meantime, I will be the person of contact if/when you need anything.”
Betancur said she is overseeing Latino organizations and programs such as Mi Familia, Mi Placita, Somos, UNIDOS and the Hispanic/Latino Collaborative, as well as being involved in the Hispanic/Latino Advisory Group. She explained that she is making sure to be connected to the Hispanic/Latino faculty and that she is assisting all of the staff at MSA as much as she can.
With her roles as program coordinator, Betancur said she assists the MSA with social media, advertising and promoting events. Currently, her main projects are promoting the Tunnel of Oppression, an MSA event that will take place March 15 and 16 in Talley Student Union, and promoting Black History Month events.
Jennifer Brown, interim director of MSA, said it is important that the programs and services the MSA provides to students are not impacted when there is any transition in the office. Brown explained that finding the right person to fill a position is essential.
“As a recent NC State alum and former student worker in MSA, Melissa Betancur is a perfect fit for MSA,” Brown said. “During her undergraduate career, she was very active in the Latino community and provided assistance with many MSA programs and initiatives. I approached her about working in MSA as the program wcoordinator because I knew she would be the ideal person who could assist with providing a smooth transition for our students.”
Betancur agreed with Brown saying it is important transitions go smoothly within MSA for the students and that programs shouldn’t be impacted just because changes occur.
“Our plan isn’t for things to die out because someone left,” Betancur said. “We still want Mi Placita and these new initiatives to keep going, and we want them to keep going strong.”
Betancur said one of her biggest goals as program coordinator is to get student participation to increase in the Hispanic/Latino Collaborative. This collaborative is a group of all the students who hold leadership positions in Hispanic/Latino organizations on campus. Betancur said the collaborative seemed like it was “dying out” because participation was so low.
“I really want students to become one, united and work together,” Betancur said. “What I envision is that all of us can go out to support each other instead of having, let’s say, Mi Familia and SHPE [Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers] on the same day, that we’re able, as Latinos, to go out and support every single event, to make sure that we’re there for each other — not just, ‘I have to pick one, and that’s the only thing I can stick to for the rest of my four years.’”
Betancur, who is from Kings Mountain, North Carolina and of Colombian descent, said another goal she has is to make sure students fell comfortable and find her relatable.
“Making sure students know that they have someone here in the office that looks just like them, that has gone through the same experiences — not all the same experiences, but very similar ones,” Betancur said.
According to Betancur, it is important that Latino students feel like they can connect with someone at MSA, particularly with a similar background, because the Latino population is small within the university.
“I mean we’re a very small percentage here at the university, and it’s already hard finding people that look just like us,” Betancur said. “I think having someone that is willing to plan on your side and help you [is beneficial]. I personally think it would help me feel comfortable coming to that person and letting them know if I have anything going on, any problems. I could go to them and feel comfortable doing that.”
Betancur said that what she is looking forward to the most is to meet and converse with the students.
“I think it’s because I don’t want to feel like I’m stuck behind a computer all day and planning programs without knowing who my audience is that I’m planning programs for,” Betancur said. “Just having that human interaction is really what makes it personal and fun.”
Nelson Santiago
Although Santiago is no longer at MSA as the assistant director of Hispanic Student Affairs, he still remains at NC State. University Recreation recently offered him the position of assistant coordinator of Sports Programs, which he accepted. Yesterday was Santiago’s first official day at University Recreation.
According to Santiago, he will be overseeing the program assistants of all sports, officials, evaluators, State Officials Association and other components of officials’ development and training.
Santiago said this position at University Recreation interested him because he was greatly involved with intramural sports during his college career at the University of Central Florida.
“I am in higher education because of my experience in intramural sports,” Santiago said. “I started as a IM referee my freshman year of college and quickly advanced to IM supervisor from sophomore to senior year. I then served as a graduate assistant for IM sports, and my first professional experience was an IM coordinator. With that being said the opportunity to return to my original roots in IM and have the flexibility to also pursue my dream of becoming an NBA referee was a combination I had to pursue.”
Santiago said his goal, as assistant coordinator of Sports Programs, is to align his job with University Recreation’s desire to provide a “premier experience” for all of its participants.
Santiago said he is eager to incorporate his officiating experience as well as his cultural competence in his new position. He also said he is excited to work with the referees of University Recreation to share his experience with both the sport their officiating as well as their personal experiences.
“I mostly look forward to helping with the officials’ development with my new role,” Santiago said. “I feel I have a lot to offer to the young officials of all sports, regardless of their aspirations of how far they want to go in officiating. I also like that I can be a part of the staff’s holistic development that will include touches of my previous role regarding social justice and cultural competence.”
Since the official announcement of his departure with MSA, Santiago has made clear that he wanted to stay in Raleigh, if not at NC State. Santiago said he was excited to receive a position at University Recreation because he would be able to continue the relationships he made with students at MSA.
“NC State has become my home away from home, and there are still many students I want to connect and work with from my previous role as well as develop connections with the new students I will be working with,” Santiago said.
Brown also said that Santiago made meaningful connections with students during his time at MSA that she expects will last even though he has stepped down.
“Nelson had a great relationship with the students that he served,” Brown said. “I am certain those relationships will maintain even though he is no longer working in the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs.”
While Betancur is filling the role of assistant director of Hispanic Student Affairs, Brown said MSA is in the process of filling vacant positions at the office and plans to fill them by June 1.
“Currently, we have two assistant director position vacancies in MSA,” Brown said. “I am excited about assembling a team of assistant directors that will continue to design and implement programs and services that will enhance the academic success of our amazing scholars.”
Nelson Santiago, the former assistant director of Hispanic Student Affairs officially announced his departure on Jan. 27. However, University Recreation hired Santiago as the new assistant coordinator of Sports Program, and yesterday was his first official day.
