fter more than a decade, teaching only as an adjunct professor and returning for workshops hosted by other faculty, Dr. Claudia Mercado has been welcomed back to NEIU’s administration with open arms as the new Interim Vice President of Enrollment Services. Before her current position, Dr. Mercado joined the NEIU community as the Assistant Director of Student Activities from 2006 to 2008. She went on to be the director of Admissions from 2008 to 2013 and an Adjunct Faculty member relating to Higher Education from 2013 until her move to Enrollment Services in June of this year. 

Referring to one of the reasons she is coming back, “It’s the students,” Dr. Mercado said in an interview with the Independent. “And the mission of the institution and being able to help support and make some change, if possible.”

Settling into her new office, she has family photos, pictures from former students as well as eclectic pieces you would probably never think of. She loves Bob Marley and is looking for Marley memorabilia to put in her new office.

DeMara Campbell is a former student of Dr. Mercado’s and a current employee. She said that at the first meeting Dr. Mercado called, everybody was very ecstatic to have her back. “It was like, you just told a bunch of kids that they’re going to Disney World, because everyone was excited!” 

Campbell knew Dr. Mercado since Campbell was in the ENgaging Latinx Communities for Education (ENLACE) Masters program. When Campbell talked about Dr. Mercado’s teaching and employment styles, she responded that she is “warm but at the same time, stern.” 

Director of Student Leadership Development (SLD) Veronica Rodriguez is another person who has known Dr. Mercado for a long time but in a different capacity than Campbell. Rodriguez said Dr. Mercado is very supportive of the student population and always wants to make positive change for the better for NEIU. 

Rodriguez said Dr. Mercado is always trying to keep the students at the forefront of how to make the school better. We might hear anecdotal things, “‘What’s the vision? How are we plugging in the students? What are we doing for the students?’” Rodriguez said these were hypothetical questions that Dr. Mercado would ask. 

Dr. Mercado said she wants to get students excited about coming to NEIU. She said by having potential applicants listen to the story of alumni recruiters, it will show them how special the school might be to them. 

Ryan Trout is the Undergraduate Admission Director and works with Dr. Mercado. When asked about student recruiters, Trout stated that there are 10 recruiters per semester who help with recruitment of new students. Student recruiters are seen as more credible by prospective students, said Trout. “For this reason, we provide several opportunities for prospective students to interact with students here.”

Campbell and Rodriguez are just two examples of the NEIU community’s excitement to see Dr. Mercado come back and to see the changes that might come from her being in this new position. 

“She definitely likes to assess and plan but then she’s going to move [forward],” said Rodriguez in reference to Dr. Mercado’s plans that will better help the university become well rounded and more accessible to future students.

Even before Dr. Mercado started in her new position, Campbell brought a recovered plant to her office. “It had been nurtured back to health and had [been] put in my [new] office,” Dr. Mercado said. Dr. Mercado still has plenty of space to fill, and who knows what Bob Marley stuff will be in there. The public will just have to wait and see how she fills her space in her office — and the university.