Let’s give our warmest Penguin welcome to our two new STEM advisors, Janeetsa and Taylor!

Janeetsa Ortiz

Janeetsa Ortiz is a fellow penguin, but she’s new to the College of STEM. She is our STEM Advisor for the MCIS students! Janeetsa received her Bachelor’s in Fashion Merchandising, with a minor in Marketing from YSU. You might be wondering how Janeetsa got into advising, well, let us tell you her story.

When Janeetsa was starting out in college, she had a number of interests and options. At one point, she was considering forensic science, but she settled on fashion merchandising. Since she was little, she was always drawn to fashion. When she decided to pursue fashion, she wanted to focus on the business-side of it. While in school, she had an internship at a boutique in West Palm Beach, FL. She learned all about what it took to run a boutique, from display arrangements to inventory management. The experience prepared her to own her own boutique, Luxe Seventeen. Another fun fact, Janeetsa was the President of the student organization, Students in Fashion and Interior. She hosted workshops like destressing jeans!

Growing up, Janeetsa’s father was a very active member of OCCHA. He would mentor kids and run the afterschool programs, with Janeetsa accompanying him. Flash forwards a few years, Janeetsa became an advisor at Eastern Gateway. She especially enjoyed helping first-generation and nontraditional students assimilate to the college environment and culture. She worked with students from all over the country, including Hawaii and Alaska! She knows that the most important part of being an advisor is to be understanding of the students’ experiences.

Now, she’s bringing all her diverse interests and experiences to the College of STEM. So far, she’s been having fun with the rest of the STEM Professional Services staff. If you are one of her students, make sure you stop by her office to say hi!

Outside of work, you can find Janeetsa busy planning her wedding. Her honeymoon location(s) is a surprise – you’ll have to find her and take a guess! More fun facts: She likes to travel and has been to Greece, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Virgin Island, and a few more places. Janeetsa also speaks Spanish. If you want to brush up on your Spanish, maybe you want to practice with her? 

Again, please welcome Janeetsa to our little STEM family!

Taylor Dean

Taylor Dean is a 2X Penguin, having received both her Bachelor’s and Master’s in Social Work from YSU. She is now an Academic Advisor for the Engineering and Engineering Tech undergraduate students with the last names beginning in H-O. 

A little bit about Taylor, she wanted to be a funeral director when she was younger! She really wanted to help people, especially in their most painful times. She actually started taking classes to pursue that before she realized that it wasn’t for her. Since her main goal was to help people, it is not surprising that she ended up in social work. We are happy to have her at the College of STEM!

During her time as a student at YSU, she interned at the then newly established Office of the Dean of Students. She worked in the Student Conduct Office where she was able to connect students with YSU resources and see them grow. She really enjoyed engaging with the students and learned the importance of being empathetic to the students’ experiences and perspectives. 

She became an advisor because she had a great experience and wanted other students to also have a happy and encouraging time when planning their college careers. From her recent experience as a student and all that she has learned from school and work, Taylor is well-equipped to be a fantastic advisor. Her favorite part about being in STEM, up to this point, is the people she gets to work with. Everyone has a similar sense of humor.
Outside of work, Taylor loves to spend time with her golden retriever Rudy and her cat Gus. FYI, you can see a cute picture of Rudy on her desktop wallpaper. Fun fact: her favorite movie is Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Her go-to quote from the movie is, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you can miss it.” Make sure you take that to heart and look around sometimes. 

Taylor also loves to bake, particularly cookies – any kind of cookies! When you stop by to say hello to her, you should ask her for some recipes. She’s currently learning how to make sourdough, maybe she will have starters to share soon. The last fun fact we have about Taylor is she loves Clearwater Beach. If she’s on vacation, you can bet it’s somewhere on a beach. 

We are excited to have Taylor join our little STEMguin family!