Meet the Staff
Esther Kraft
Director for Student Involvement and Multicultural Initiatives
Email: Ekraft@lewisu.edu
Phone: (815) 836-5072
Location: Brother James Gaffney Student Center, 104 D
Esther Cano-Kraft is a higher education leader who understands that it 鈥渢akes a village鈥� to truly achieve student success. With over twenty years of experience in public and private education, Esther鈥檚 key areas of expertise include student leadership development, multicultural programming, and the co-curricular student life experience. She says she enjoys working with young adults because she is always learning something new and, because it makes her feel younger!
Prior to joining 宅男福利社, Esther was the first-year experience director at Chicago State University. She earned her undergraduate degree in broadcast journalism from the University of Illinois and her Master鈥檚 in Higher Education from the University of Toledo. Outside of work, Esther loves to spend time with her family and express her passion for animal rescue by volunteering as a foster parent for her local animal shelter.
Javier Rodriguez
Assistant Director of Student Involvement and Multicultural Initiatives
Email: jrodriguez27@lewisu.edu
Phone: (815) 836-5843
Location: Brother James Gaffney Student Center, 104 D
Javier Rodriguez is the Assistant Director for Student & Multicultural Engagement. He obtained a B.A. in Communications from Northern Illinois University where he was involved in a number of student clubs and organizations. Javier also worked as a Graduate Assistant within the Office for Student Involvement & Leadership Development (SILD), while receiving his M.S. Ed in Adult & Higher Education at NIU. Prior to joining 宅男福利社, Javier worked in Student Life at Malcom X College and Northern Illinois University. In addition to this work he was heavily involved in student orientation, campus programming, and was a Teachers Aid for University 101, an introduction to College course for incoming first-year students.
SOPHIA TEUSCHER
Coordinator for Student and Multicultural Engagement
Email: steuscher@lewisu.edu
Phone: (815) 836-5156
Location: Brother James Gaffney Student Center, 104B
Sophia Teuscher is the Coordinator for Multicultural and Student Engagement at 宅男福利社. She has an associate's degree in psychology from Waubonsee Community College, as well as a bachelor's degree in psychology from Northern Illinois University. After working as a substitute teacher for a year, Sophia obtained a TEFL certification in Barcelona, Spain. As anyone can guess, it was an expensive- yet worth every euro- endeavor. This led to lifelong friendships and an incredibly fulfilling position teaching English as a second language to adult learners at Waubonsee Community College; however, there was something intriguing about the coordinator position that just felt right. This brings us to the present- and the foreseeable future- at 宅男福利社 University. If there is some lesson to be learned from this series of life events, it would be that plans change all the time. You might end up in a completely different career than you initially anticipated. Study what you are passionate about and see where that leads you. In the words of JRR Tolkien, “not all who wander are lost”.
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