Occidental’s former Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs Vivian Garay Santiago stepped into the role of Interim Dean of Students for the 2024–2025 academic year, following the departure of Dean of Students Rob Flot. According to Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Amos Himmelstein, when President Emeritus Harry Elam stepped down in June 2024, Elam named Santiago as the next Interim Dean.
Santiago said she sees her new position as an opportunity to be someone students can connect to and build personal relationships with, so that when a student is going through academic stress, they have someone in their corner.
Being the Interim Dean also means working with the Dean of Students Office, according to Santiago. She said she and the Dean of Students Office help students navigate personal issues that affect their academic life, such as mental health issues and struggles with classes — if a student were to miss a deadline due to an emergency, she can notify their professors on their behalf.
Santiago said she does not want students to feel ashamed for asking for help. She said that while the Dean of Students office is incapable of solving every problem that might be impacting students, it is a safe space where students can go for support.
“I worry sometimes that we tend to hide and we don’t want to feel vulnerable,” Santiago said. “We don’t want to acknowledge that things are hard, but things are hard, and it’s okay.”
Santiago said she encourages students to reach out for support and that it does not make them weak, nor does it mean they will become dependent on support forever. Her own past experiences, she said, have helped inform the culture she wants to uphold as Interim Dean.
“When I was in my 20s, I thought struggle was shameful and did things on my own and that asking for help was weak,” Santiago said. “Find a space where you can be a little vulnerable and hopefully get to the next step.”
Survivor Advocate and Program Coordinator of Project SAFE Stephani Candelaria said Santiago is very dedicated to her role in helping students.
“[Santiago] has always been really great about keeping her office door open for students, even after her promotion to this new role,” Candelaria said. “She’s always been one to host open spaces for students or stop on the quad and talk to a student if someone sees her.”
Santiago said that while challenges are inevitable and can become too overwhelming, it is important that students know the Dean of Students office is there to help.
“We don’t have a magical wand,” Santiago said. “But our hope [is] to have an empathetic person that’s going to be like, ‘Okay, let’s [do this] together [and] get you connected to appropriate resources and support.'”
Santiago said that people want to live exciting lives, do great things and embrace progress — but they need challenge to achieve those aspects. And sometimes, that challenge can be overpowering, she said.
“Know that you’re going to struggle, and if you’re feeling a little bit overwhelmed by that, it’s okay to reach out and ask for help — and there’s lots of places to do that,” Santiago said. “If you’re struggling more deeply, that’s where you come in [to my office].”
Contact Weiran Li and Michelle Teh at vli2@oxy.edu and teh@oxy.edu
