Lourdes Andrade

Director of Academic Policy & Academic Support, Undergraduate Advising & Research

OFFICE OF THE VICE PROVOST FOR UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION

When Lourdes Andrade moved to the Bay Area and wanted to work in higher education, everybody told her to find a long-term career at Stanford. After 11 years working here, Lourdes knows why.

“Stanford has opened so many opportunities that I had never considered before coming here,” she says. “I know how to push beyond my comfort zone, to do things exceeding my own expectations. I am encouraged to be the best that I can be.”

Lourdes’ journey of self-discovery at Stanford started when she joined the Stanford Teacher Education Program as a student advisor. Like her students, she was initially intimidated by the surrounding “greatness,” but soon discovered plentiful support. Lourdes attended technical courses, benefited from helpful managers and mentors, and earned a second master’s degree, paid entirely through the Staff Tuition Reimbursement Program.

After a brief move, she returned as a student services officer in Undergraduate Advising & Research and was promoted to her current position. “I work one on one with students during their Stanford career and provide guidance during challenging times,” Lourdes says. “It’s a responsibility I cherish and value highly.”

Lourdes continues to grow through Stanford’s many professional opportunities, such as Manager Academy and the Voice & Influence Circle, a women’s networking group she co-led this year. Now, Lourdes is pursuing a Ph.D., which her manager strongly supports.

Stanford enriches Lourdes’s personal life, too. “Many of our most cherished memories as a family are from some Stanford event or opportunity,” she says.

These include watching athletics games as a staff-discounted season ticket holder and making life-long friends with other parents at her son’s on-campus daycare.

Lourdes regards her experience this way: “The beauty of working at Stanford is that all employees can develop a unique journey for themselves. There are countless paths yet to explore.”