By Kris Romero
Hello and Happy New Year!
The holidays have always held a special place in my heart. Just mentioning them conjures vivid memories of cozy sweaters, time spent with loved ones and devouring too many tamales to even count. However, my favorite holiday during this time of year is easily New Year’s Day. Chalk full of New Year’s resolutions and excitement to see what the future will hold, no other holiday incites a stronger sense of hope. Inspired by the holiday, this year I have made a very special New Year’s resolution. One I admittedly never thought I would have made, but also one I am extremely excited to commit to and share here today.
By now, you might be able to guess that I love the New Year because of the hope a New Year’s resolution can bring. In case you still need convincing, let me tell you a bit more about myself and hopefully shed some light as to why resolutions are so important to me. In a nutshell, my name is Kris Romero and I am the new Tech and Data Career Advisor here at DePaul University. I was born and raised in California, where I spent my formative years living with my family in an eastern suburb of Los Angeles. At the age of 18, I received an athletic scholarship to run Cross Country/Track and Field at my dream school, UC Santa Barbara. Soon after graduating and much to my family’s chagrin, I moved even further north to San Francisco, California, where I earned a Master’s degree in Industrial/Organizational Psychology. Upon earning my degree, I immediately entered the fast-paced world of Bay Area tech start-ups and began my career working as an HR/Recruitment professional.
For over 7 years, I led recruitment strategies for a multitude of different start-ups across a variety of different industries. During this time, I was able to learn the “in’s and out’s” of the business world and am forever grateful for this experience. However, after several years working in start-up world, I admittedly felt a certain sense of longing to do something more with my career. Something was lacking and after much self-reflection, I decided to make a change. Inspired by the impending New Year, I took a leap of faith and committed to a career change. Something I never thought I’d have the courage to do
As I reflect on my life, I am proud of all that I have accomplished. At the age of 33, I’ve lived in three major US cities, obtained my master’s degree in a field that I love, built a successful career as an HR/Recruitment professional and am now embarking on a new career trajectory that I am truly passionate about. A trajectory that has already filled me with a strong sense of purpose and has unsurprisingly influenced my resolution this year.
This year, my New Year’s Resolution is to commit myself towards the betterment of DePaul and its community through service. I truly hope my work here will contribute to the organization’s success and I cannot wait to see what the future will hold for this remarkable community.