1. Life is what you bake of it!
Andrea would rather eat chocolate than anything else in the world. When she was a kid, she would eat the minimum amount of “real food” in order to eat all the sweets she could get her hands on. Though she tends to eat a bit healthier now, it’s hard to convince her that anything is better than her favorite food. Hence, Andrea is not much of a cook, but she loves to bake and finds any excuse to be in the kitchen. One day, she would love to open up a bakery with her daughter who is her partner in the kitchen. You can often find them making healthy pumpkin muffins, giant chocolate chip cookies, and Hello Dollies (her Grandma Marcia’s “not-so-secret” recipe for Seven Layer Cookies). Andrea will share her recipes with anyone who asks!
2. A true animal lover since childhood
When Andrea was a kid, she spent countless hours at a nearby pet shop. She longed to take home just about every animal there. She was known to order chameleons through the mail and could often be found catching live spiders to feed them. She would sneak small pets into the house (mice, rabbits) and adopted an outdoor cat even though her parents were dog people. Though her family has too many allergies to have furry creatures at home, she longs for the day when her daughter can adopt some of the animals that they routinely visit at the SD Humane Society.
3. She’s a chameleon!
Andrea is somewhat of a chameleon herself and has often been asked about her ethnic background. It wasn’t until recently that she found out through 23andme that her ancestry composition is actually 98.9% Ashkenazi Jewish. She loves meeting people of all cultures, religions, and identities. She looks forward to more trips to distant parts of the world to immerse herself in the arts, culture, food, and traditions of other people.
4. Technologically adept
Andrea doesn’t just like her job. She loves the time she spends helping faculty learn to teach effectively online. Though she didn’t originally major in educational technology, she was working with faculty as a graduate assistant back in the day when email first became a thing on campus. She saw the need for instructional support in this area, and her husband pointed her to the EDTEC* degree program. Andrea loved the program, earned a masters degree in Educational Technology, and has spent the last 20 years helping faculty teach online and integrate technology in the classroom.
5. An Aztec for Life
She left the San Fernando Valley in L.A. after high school and came to SDSU to earn her BA in Social Science. She met her husband here. She later earned an MA in Education at SDSU. Much of her life revolves around work and activities at SDSU. Both of her kids attended the SDSU Children’s Center, and they attend Aztec Science Camp every summer. Her family regularly attends SDSU men’s and women’s basketball games.
6. She was a Mac pioneer, a popular one at that!
When Andrea moved into Zura Hall on campus, her parents bought her a Mac SE and dot matrix printer. She was very popular on her floor since she was one of the only students who had a computer. Her trusty Mac routinely got passed around so her floormates could type up their papers. It was early exposure in a computer class in 7th grade and then the Mac SE in college that introduced her to personal computing and foretold what would become a lifelong passion. And she still has that working Mac SE!
7. Making waves!
One day, Andrea hopes to live on a property near water. For now, she and her family visit her parents almost every summer at their island house on Harstine Island on the Puget Sound in Washington state. There’s nothing more relaxing to Andrea than taking a kayak out on the Sound. Her favorite times are early in the morning when dolphins and harbor seals can be seen swimming around or lazing on a dock. She has yet to be out there when Orcas pass through, but she’s not sure she wants that up-close experience!
How Andrea is making a difference in the College of Education:
“I work very hard to figure out where my clients are in their skill sets and then work with them to set reasonable goals for where they would like to be. I’m proud of the fact that I serve a very large and varied group of people who impact the learning and lives of so many students - whether they are students in the College of Education or the students they, in turn, teach, counsel, and lead in our local schools. Every day, I have the opportunity to give back to SDSU, a place where so much of my life has evolved in wonderful ways. I’m exceedingly proud to be part of a College that has such a great impact on our community.”
* The Educational Technology (EDTEC) program is now called the Learning Design & Technology program and is offered through the SDSU School of Journalism and Media Studies.