Andrea Cruz

Student Lifecycle Specialist
College of Humanities, Arts, Behavioral and Social Sciences (CHABSS)
Academic Affairs

I am a new staff member in the CHABSS Dean’s Office as a Student Lifecycle Specialist (3 months in). I am from Downey, in LA county and moved to San Diego for my Master’s in Higher Education Leadership at the University of San Diego. My bachelor’s degree was in Sociology at UC Santa Barbara, so it’s safe to say I enjoy beach cities. Here in North County SD I am only 15 minutes away from one of the most beautiful beaches and I feel blessed! 

I stumbled into creating art by accident. In fact, I always said I wasn’t creative, but art can be created and come to life in various ways, so I have learned. This is my very first time showcasing my art, so here’s to doing something that gets me out of my comfort zone.  

Artwork by Andrea Cruz

"The Art of Being Seen"
Art Medium: Ink on Paper

This piece was created exactly 10 years ago during a week-long, all-staff meeting at a former job. To stay focused, I began doodling throughout the sessions, adding a little more to it each day. When my colleagues asked what I was creating, I told them it was nothing in particular. There really wasn’t a vision for it, I just doodled.  

I filled the page by the end of the week and a colleague-turned-friend asked if he could have it. I wasn’t attached to it, so I handed it over. To my surprise, he framed it on his desk. A few years later and on my last day with the company, he gave it back to me as a parting gift; and that gesture was so special to me because it was just a doodle until someone else saw art.  

Sometimes art begins not when it's created, but when it's seen.