HFC welcomes Andrea Herrera, who brings overseas experience to her new role

Andrea Herrera standing in front of a mountainous scene.

Being educated in Germany and Mexico provided excellent, rewarding experiences for HFC’s new Bilingual K-12 Admissions Recruiter, Andrea Herrera (ahn-DRAY-ah eh-RARE-ah). The position requires native-speaker-level fluency in Spanish and English.

“I was exposed to so many different opinions, cultures, and experiences,” said Herrera, of Farmington Hills. “I knew I wanted to work in a place that valued cross-cultural exchange, which HFC does.”

On her way to language #5

Born in Ann Arbor, Herrera is the eldest of two. Her mother is HFC International Student Advisor Sara Gonzalez Herrera.

Herrera graduated from Cologne International School in Cologne, Germany, where she was a member of the third graduating class. Her family lived abroad at that time because her father Hugo Herrera’s work as an engineer took them overseas.

Returning to the United States, Herrera enrolled at Michigan State University, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in world politics and German. During her MSU days, Herrera was a member of the Honors College and was a Political Science Scholar.

She also studied abroad in Monterrey, Mexico, where she lived with her late grandmother while at the Tecnológico de Monterrey. Herrera also completed coursework at HFC. She is fluent in English, Spanish, and German, and understands basic French.

“I would like to learn a fifth language and become a polyglot,” she said. “Going to Mexico has been a significant emotional and personal journey, allowing me to participate in my own culture and connect with my family. Getting to have that experience was really quite beautiful for me.”

Happy to be able to speak Spanish at a professional level

Herrera joined HFC in mid-October. She reports to HFC Vice President of Marketing and Communications Rhonda DeLong.

“We are excited to welcome Andrea to our team,” said DeLong. “She is a very quick and bright learner, and has been able to rapidly absorb and assimilate the knowledge a recruiter needs to get up to speed. She's a diligent worker and a great teammate who shows kindness and respect to everyone she meets. She also brings a lot of joy, fun, and curiosity to her role. I enjoy the fact that she always has thoughtful questions, and I know she'll be pushing us in the future -- in a friendly and collegial way -- to continue improving the ways we recruit and serve students and their families.”

Herrera’s duties include:

  • Visiting various high schools in Wayne County to connect with students, families, and counselors.
  • Attending college fairs and other events to provide information and have conversations with college-going students.
  • Giving presentations to high school students.
  • Reaching out to partner organizations to encourage high school students to pursue higher education at HFC.

A core goal of her role is to strengthen relationships with Hispanic / Latinx students and communities so they can engage with the opportunities HFC provides to for affordable education and better futures.

“I have worked a lot with high school and early college students, and I've worked with international groups as a student ambassador and as a student assistant. I’ve been interested in education for a long time. I’m also happy to use my Spanish at a professional level,” she said. “Spanish fluency creates essential connections in the Latinx community. It makes it easier to provide authentic resources to students and families by removing the language barrier, so communication isn’t a hurdle when they’re thinking about going to college. It’s also about understanding and embracing the culture -- which varies across different communities and countries of origin.”

During her first two months on the job, she's immersed herself in the role and the learning that goes with it.

“I have had a positive experience in being able to provide students with the information they need. Answering questions from students and being able to help them, and being an active participant in that process has been very rewarding,” she explained. “What’s challenging is familiarizing myself with HFC’s different departments and matching them with the cultures of the high schools I visit. I need to know what’s relevant to each school and each student and have that library of knowledge in my head.”

Motivated and independent

Herrera’s ultimate goal is working in higher education or a nonprofit organization in Spain within the next 10 years.

“I want to earn a master’s degree, but I need to make an educated choice about its focus. I care about education and sustainability and how to create sustainable practices at different educational institutions through community engagement. I also want to get involved in the Sustainability Club at HFC,” said Herrera.

Her mother expressed how proud she is of her daughter.

“Andrea is a motivated, strong, and very independent person, who is not afraid of taking on new projects or going into ‘unknown waters.’ I remember when she accepted to be the class rep for her 9th grade class, where she was not just in a new school but also in a new country where the family had just moved to a few weeks earlier,” she recalled. “It is so special, as I think back when I started working at HFC: I was pregnant with her and my coworkers organized a baby shower to welcome her. Now, 24 years later, she is welcomed again, but this time as an HFC employee!”