Meet Stephanie Roberts

Today we’d like to introduce you to Stephanie Roberts.

Stephanie, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I’ve always been interested in international education and the importance of intercultural competency skills. I came from a multicultural family and was raised in multiple countries—I’m Brazilian by birth, but my dad is from the US and my mom is from Bolivia, so both of those countries and communities were a big part of my growing up. I am very grateful for the fact that I have a foot in multiple cultures and communities, and I think it set me up to have a very keen interest in intercultural communication and wanting my work to be involved in that in some way.

I began my career in international development and attended DU for my Master’s degree as part of that work. During that time, I was a student worker in the Office of International Education and unexpectedly found a new passion within that field. After working in international development/non-profit work for several years, a position in the field of study abroad/international education opened up and I made the decision to move back to Denver, after time in Indiana, Montana, and New York City, both for that position and to be close to my family again. I’m a big believer in the idea that our paths open up to us when we’re paying attention, and there were a lot of variables in my life at the time that really pointed to making that move. I have been in this office, in various roles, for six years now, and have absolutely enjoyed working in a university setting and being back in Denver near my family.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It’s been a roller coaster but in a great way! There were definitely painful moments—a lot of self-doubt in my early professional life, uncertainty about what I wanted to do and where—but I’m grateful for each experience I’ve had. Looking back, I’ve learned from each role I’ve taken, and each city I’ve lived in—from political non-profit work to community organizing, advocacy, and human rights, and ultimately to university work and development intercultural competency skills. Each position got me closer to the type of work I most enjoy, gave me more clarity as to what type of work I want to do, and the role I want my profession to play in my life.

I’ve had to learn to navigate relationships with supervisors and wider teams, understanding my own ethos around my role in community or university work and what kind of position I would like to have, and recognizing the importance of work/life balance. Each of these lessons came from navigating difficult situations, seeking out mentors to help me understand the outcomes better, and learning what kinds of questions to ask as I explore new roles and new positions.

We’d love to hear more about your work.
Currently, I am the Interim Director at the University of Denver’s Office of International Education. We are a unit within a wider university, and our contribution comes in the form of helping support undergraduate study abroad and meaningful intercultural engagement opportunities. I am very proud of the work our team does—we have a dedicate group of professionals who are passionate about helping students broaden their horizons and better understand the world we live in.

DU is known for our commitment to undergraduate study abroad—we are consistently ranked in the top 5 institutions of our type in the US for percentage of students who go abroad and we are very proud of that. It takes a lot of work—not just from our staff, but from the students, our allies on campus and all the units who have to work together to make this a possibility for students and I’m very proud of those partnerships. Getting to work directly with students is a great experience, and getting to learn about our partners is also personally very fulfilling. At different times, I have been the advisor for Latin America, Canada, UK, Russia, Greece, Italy, and Kyrgyzstan (not all at the same time!), and I’ve also had various administrative roles—from overseeing student advising to supervising our student staff—and I’ve learned so much from each of those roles.

What were you like growing up?
I was overall a good kid 🙂 I grew up really close to my extended family and I was a pretty sociable child and enjoyed spending time with friends, but I could also be really shy–I walk the line between extrovert and introvert and I still do. As a kid, I wanted to be an actress, then a psychologist, and by the time I got to college had decided on international relations. I always loved reading and would journal quite a lot as a kid. I also enjoyed swimming, spending time with friends and my cousins, and acting out all my childhood movies 🙂 We would spend Christmas and summer either in Bolivia or with my dad’s family in Ohio (alternating every year), and I really enjoyed having that time to be with my wider family.

Contact Info:

• Address: Office of International Education
  University of Denver
  2200 S Josephine St
  Denver, CO 80203
• Website: www.du.edu/abroad
• Phone: 3038714912
• Email: duabroad@du.edu

Image Credit:
University of Denver (campus scene), Sam Arndt (team photo)

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