| Exploring new territory 
Photo by Jeff Watts
Lorenley Baez was lost. She knew how to get around her neighborhood in the South Bronx, and had spent part of her senior high-school year in the halls of Congress. But where was the AU admissions office? The prospective freshman stepped off the AU shuttle, a bit bewildered, and approached a group of passing students with her shy question. “They were so nice. They escorted me all the way there. Everyone was so nice, I just knew this was the place I wanted to go,” Baez says as she recalls the act of kindness that decided her in favor of AU. Now Baez is assistant director of Multicultural Affairs, is pursuing two master’s degrees, and was recently appointed a university chaplain. It’s a long way from the Bronx—or, for that matter, from her birthplace in the Dominican Republic, whose flag hangs among the vibrant mementoes in her office at the Mary Graydon Center. But Baez has charted an unexpected course for much of her life. When she was 12, she caught the attention of a nonprofit that assists talented inner-city minority youth, and landed a scholarship to a prestigious boarding school outside Philadelphia. Living away from her family was hard at first, but she flourished at the 208-year-old Westtown School, and by high school was dreaming of life on Capitol Hill. As a senior project, Baez shadowed a reporter on the political newspaper Roll Call. “I had this notion I would be this great journalist, and my break was going to take place in Washington, D.C.,” she says. Hoping to return to Washington for college, she made the trip to AU’s campus and knew it was the right fit. She participated in the Summer Transition Enrichment Program (STEP), a seven-week summer program for entering multicultural or first-generation students that, as it happens, she now coordinates as part of her position as assistant director of Multicultural Affairs. Time, though, changed her goals. She still loved writing, but became active in AU’s Latino student community. By graduation, her focus had changed to youth empowerment and nonprofit work. Baez is now pursuing two degrees in the School of Public Affairs, a master’s in public administration and a master of science in organization development, along with her full-time position. She works with Fanta Aw, who continues to head International Student and Scholar Services while also serving as Multicultural Affairs’ interim director. In spite of Baez’s busy schedule, she’s found time to be involved in her Pentecostal church, which she calls “a blessing that’s helped me stay focused.” It also led her to a new role as a university chaplain, advising several Christian groups with largely African American memberships. Baez has also worked in the president’s office. What was once unknown territory to a prospective student from the Bronx is now a landscape full of memories, challenges, and future plans. “I’ve had such an amazing experience here,” she says. —SA |
