My name is Dianka Lohay and I am the Project Manager of Holistic Resources Student Services at Rio Hondo College. I am a first generation American whose parents escaped communism in Czechoslovakia and immigrated to America for a better life. After the father of my three children was deported and multiple entanglements with the court system as well as the Department of Children and Family Services, I returned to college as an older adult. During this time, I was struck by the amount of support at the community college level and decided that one day I wanted to work in higher education, specifically with non- traditional students. Upon graduating from Rio Hondo Community College with two associate degrees, I transferred to California State University Long Beach School of Social Work where I completed a Bachelor of Arts in Social Work followed by a Master of Social Work in Integrated Health. During my time as an undergraduate and graduate student, I worked at Whittier First Day as a Homeless Outreach Navigator and as a research assistant studying the experiences of students facing food and housing insecurity across the California State University system. In my current role at Rio Hondo College, I routinely provide the services I once accessed as a student myself, while applying a professional lens. I have a passion for education and ensuring that all students are equipped to reach their educational goals. I am a life-long Whittier resident and live with my mom and three adult children, two of which are college students.