Ana Del Rivero, a junior originally from Cancun, Mexico, feels right at home with two St. Thomas organizations: HOLA! and OISS. Since the Hispanic Organization for Leadership and Achievement as well as the Office of International Students and Scholars helped her early on, she readily volunteers her time with each.
“It was crazy that a club made me feel like I was back home,” Del Rivero said.
She found comfort in the HOLA! activities, from dining out at restaurants to dances to celebrating Cinco de Mayo and Día de Los Muertos. She's inspired that St. Thomas students from other cultures enjoy HOLA! activities as well.
“Americans love to come to HOLA! and try different things like the food and the music,” she said. “It’s amazing how you can share your culture with others, and they can share their culture with you. For instance, I love to go to ASIA Club (the Asian American student organization).”
Del Rivero now serves on the HOLA! board as community engagement director, responsible for communication with members and soliciting donations to the organization.
Transitioning to American culture
Del Rivero and her parents moved to the U.S. when she was in high school to start the Twin Cities restaurant Fiesta Cancún. It was quite the change initially for Del Rivero, who had to adjust from attending a Catholic school in Mexico where her friend group only included females to being a student at the public Osseo High School.
“At Osseo, everyone was from different cultures and from various parts of the world. I also had different classes with different people throughout my school day,” she said. “It was good though, because I enjoy getting to know other people and their languages and cultures.”
When Del Rivero started attending St. Thomas, all her friends were international students.
Sarah Chamseddine in Campus Ministry, whom Del Rivero knew from her work as a Latino assistant in that office, introduced her to International Admissions Counselor Amanda Hager in OISS.
Hager encouraged Del Rivero to apply to be an international student ambassador, a position that she landed. In that role, Del Rivero is responsible for five first-year students from Spanish-speaking countries. She answers questions that they have about St. Thomas and is there for them if they just need someone to talk to.
Beyond her involvement in HOLA!, OISS and Campus Ministry, Del Rivero also serves as a resident advisor in the Catholic Studies Telos Living Learning Community (LLC) in Dowling Hall.
“I love to be involved in everything, but I know that sometimes that’s impossible,” she said. “There’s only one time that you’re going to be in college, so I want to be involved in everything.”
The dream job: Delta Air Lines
Del Rivero is majoring in both human resource management and marketing in Opus College of Business. As a person who loves to travel outside of the U.S., her hope is to work at Delta Air Lines in one of those fields after graduation.
“One of my dreams is to travel the whole world,” Del Rivero said.
She’s got a solid start.
So far, she’s been to Thailand, Cambodia, France, Spain and Italy (where she spent J-Term in Rome).
Every time she travels, Del Rivero takes Delta. “They treat you really well,” she said.
Thanks to her parents, she has an entrepreneurial itch as well. In addition to the restaurant, her mom owns a short-term vacation rental in Mérida, Mexico.
“Maybe after a career at Delta, I’ll go back to Mexico and do my own thing,” she said.
Now that HOLA!, OISS and a St. Thomas education have set her up for success, Del Rivero looks to take her passion for travel and culture around the world one Delta flight at a time.
