A bus stop is a great place to meet people and learn what’s happening on campus. That’s one of the many places where Academic Advisor and Enrollment Management Specialist Juan I. Florencia enjoys impromptu chats with students.

“Commiserating in the cold makes for good conversations, sometimes,” Florencia said.

A true conversationalist, he also likes bantering over warn pizza or in his cozy office within the CNHS Office of Student Services in Rowell 002, where students can find a comfortable sofa, an ever-full jar of chocolates and a sympathetic ear.

Florencia recently joined the College of Nursing and Health Sciences following 13 years’ experience in higher education, advising students at institutions including UMass Amherst, Western Michigan University and, most recently, Champlain College. He is passionate about his career as an advisor and enjoys learning and applying new theories and methods to best support the students and colleagues he works with on a daily basis. He feels strongly about issues of diversity and social justice, drawing on his own academic background in cultural anthropology, in which he focused on race and identity politics and their intersection in American popular culture. An active member of the National Academic Advising Association, Florencia is interested in helping to define a philosophical position specific to the field of professional advising.

"I have developed a real appreciation and understanding of how our learned behaviors and actions can sometimes be hurtful or worse. However, this same ability to learn also allows us to work through and move past the hurt and difference to form new and more inclusive cultural understandings," Florencia said. "Advisors can play a critical role in helping individuals understand that for themselves, by listening to and assisting them with their own academic goals."

During his first two months at UVM, Florencia has enjoyed getting to know the Links peer mentors and working closely with them to plan social and informational sessions. They hosted meet and greet pizza parties in January, a “Hugs and Hershey’s Kisses” giveaway on Valentine’s Day and ongoing Links recruitment information sessions to recruit Links for next year.

In his free time, Florencia enjoys exploring local spots to eat, drink, laugh and have fun with his family. He likes listening to True Crime podcasts, playing Dungeons & Dragons and collecting Superhero comic books. He’s confident that he owns one of the largest collections of comic books in Vermont.

Florencia is very excited to join the CNHS Student Services team and looks forward to meeting and working with all the wonderful students in the college here at UVM. 

He invites students, faculty and staff to send him a message or stop by his office to take a break, enjoy a snack, exchange ideas and ask for advice.