Chandra Deveroux, Student Resource Manager for ACC-Long Beach
Congratulations to Chandra Deveroux! The 11-year ACC associate was recently promoted to Student Resource Manager for ACC-Long Beach. Previously, Deveroux was the Academic Retention Specialist for Student Services at ACC-Orange County and many know her through her Commencement coordination. Deveroux is committed to her students and draws from her own life experiences to help ACC students through their trials.
“What I went through as a single mom helps me be able to relate to many of our students and encourage them to get through their own trials,” Deveroux shares.
Valerie Dickson, Student Resource Center Director at ACC-Orange County, said, “Chandra has been a tireless student advocate for the OC campus for over 10 years and has been instrumental in delivering a student-centric model of service whether in Orientation, Student Appreciation Day events, Graduation or in her day to day interactions.”
We recently asked Deveroux to share more about her time at ACC and what brought her here.
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Tell us more about yourself, your background?
I moved to California in 1999 to become a military wife in Twentynine Palms. On September 22, 2001 (yes, 11 days after 9/11). I had my first child on the Twentynine Palms Naval Base Hospital, in 120-degree weather. In September 2003, we left the military and moved to Fullerton where I found a job at Target. I was so determined to be hired there that I waited in the lobby to tell the employer I wanted an interview, and it worked! I landed that job and worked my way into HR at Target. A year later, after starting working at American Career College, I became a single parent and was working and going to school full-time. I was in California alone with no support from family but thankfully, I had a lot of ACC family to inspire me through those hard times. I even met a really good friend in 2006 and long story short… I married that friend in 2008 and now we have a daughter who is seven years old and my son that is now 14 years old!
What made you interested in coming to ACC?
My neighbor was a security guard for ACC-Orange County and he told me that American Career College would be a great fit for me. My interview was set with Mayra Pena at the Los Angeles campus but since I was pretty new to California, it was going to be my first LA trip EVER! I left my house at 4 a.m. to beat the LA traffic for my 8 a.m. interview! Mayra hired me on October 18, 2004 and Laura Herrera (now working at the Ontario campus) did my new hire orientation.
What will you be working on, or working with, in your new role at ACC?
I will be working with all the wonderful staff members in Long Beach! They sure have made me feel so welcome! And OF COURSE I will be planning graduation!
What do you find most interesting about your job?
The most interesting part about my job is hearing the day-to-day stories of our students. Learning about their needs, wants and their accomplishments.
What is your life motto?
- Be kind, tell the truth and love one another.
- Sometime you have to go through the tough times to appreciate the good times.
- There is a reason for everything.
Who/what is your biggest inspiration/influence?
Helping others and making a difference is what inspires me.
What is one thing that may surprise people about you?
I think the one thing most people find surprising about me is that I moved 33 times in my lifetime, and not as a military baby! My father set up loss prevention plans for companies, which is one reason I always liked being involved with school safety. The second interesting thing about me is that I am related to Johnny Appleseed, through my mother’s side of the family.
