De Anza's Caring Campus Initiative


What is Caring Campus?

Caring Campus logoCaring Campus is a nationwide initiative of the Institute for Evidence-Based Change. The objective of the program is to increase student retention and success by creating and cultivating caring environments through inclusion of all staff.

Classified staff are most often the first contact students have with a college. As part of the initiative at De Anza, classified professionals were invited to a three-day workshop to discuss ideas to increase staff involvement and to create a culture of caring on our campus.

This led to formation of the Caring Campus committee, which works to enhance visibility of classified professionals at De Anza and ensure they have the tools to support students in reaching their educational goals.

See below for a list of Caring Campus commitments and a current roster of committee members.

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Our Commitments

two women at a table with maps and bottled waterTen-Foot Rule

  • Take the initiative to approach and help students in a friendly and open manner, as necessary.

Name Tags

  • Wear name tags so students know who to approach and ask for assistance.

Cross-Department Awareness

  • Learn and collaborate with various departments on campus to better help students.

Warm Referrals

  • Make a connection on the student's behalf: Call ahead or walk the student to the office or class they need to get to. Follow up to ensure that the student received the help they needed.

Virtual Commitments

  • Participate and contribute to all virtual orientations and meetings with students.


Committee Members

  • Gulzhan Alieva, Instructional Associate, Nursing
  • Veronica Aparicio, Graduation and Evaluations Coordinator, Admissions and Records
  • Lidia Burlanescu, Laboratory Technician, Biology
  • Margarita Hawthorn, Program Coordinator, Community Education
  • Satinder Kaur, Laboratory Technician, Biology
  • Mary Medrano, Administrative Assistant II, Student Services
  • Andre Meggerson, Senior Administrative Assistant, Creative Arts

two women in red t-shirts

male staffer with yellow hat standing with two female students

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