When I reflect on the start of my experience at Hofstra University, I remember one moment vividly.
It was the dead of winter in 2020, just weeks before COVID-19 would throw the world into a tailspin. I was with my parents and my best friend on a four-hour trip to Hempstead, New York, to visit Hofstra. We arrived in the frosty cold and sat down for an information session about the school. Suddenly, a loud, bubbly voice overtook the room: “Welcome to Hofstra, who’s excited!”
That voice? None other than the beloved Andrea Nadler.
If you have ever attended a Hofstra New Student Orientation or have been on campus during Welcome Week, chances are that Nadler has popped in to congratulate you on becoming an official member of the Pride. If you see bright sapphire-blue shoes, long black hair and a smile so wide it extends from one unispan to the next, you’ve probably found yourself in the same vicinity as Nadler.
“Are you going to make me famous?” Nadler said, gearing up for the interview. But she has already done that on her own. Nadler isn’t one to boast her Hofstra success – quite the opposite, actually.
The walls of her office are scattered with Hofstra memories and moments. Her desk is another story, covered in photos with Hofstra graduates, notes from students and other trinkets that make you want to bleed blue and gold right then and there. It’s clear Nadler has quite a love for all things Hofstra.
This fall marks Nadler’s 30th year with the university, where she started as an undergraduate psychology major. Unsurprisingly, back then, Nadler was a little different from who she is now.
“I started back in the fall of 1994 as a first-year student coming out of high school in Brooklyn,” Nadler said. “I had no confidence, no leadership skills and I was afraid of public speaking. ”
During her undergraduate years, Nadler sparked a new version of herself through leadership and campus involvement like she had never seen before. Serving as Panhellenic President, a member of the Delta Phi Epsilon sorority and a Pride Guide, Nadler still made sure to stay on top of all her classes. Now, she keeps busy with her responsibilities as the Director of Engagement and Relationship Management at Hofstra’s Office of Admission.
“This is year 27 of being out at the high schools, visiting schools, meeting with students and their families, but because I never left college, I still feel as young as I ever did,” Nadler said. “I started doing the job that I’m doing at age 22, and now, I’m going to be 48.”
Nadler’s feeling of youth definitely shows in her day-to-day as she interacts with students from all over the globe, whether on Hofstra’s campus or not. It made me wonder, where does that enthusiasm come from?
“I have been so fortunate to feel a sense of belonging at Hofstra. What I love about this university is that it is the kind of campus where you do feel like you know everybody, but you meet somebody new every day,” Nadler said. “I do get excited to see the students and to see and to feel their energy.”
It’s easy to see that Nadler’s ability to connect with students goes beyond what you typically see in an admissions setting. In fact, if you’re lucky enough, you might get a surprise visit from Nadler.
“If I know a student is involved in a big game or if they’re involved in theater or if they’re involved in music, I can go and show my support to them and surprise the heck out of their family … I don’t tell them I’m coming!” Nadler said. “So that is just so special to me, and it’s as meaningful for me as it is for them, and I want everybody to know that.”
Nadler is part of the magic of Hofstra, “You know, some people feel about Disney World how I feel about Hofstra.”
But what about Nadler’s life outside of Hofstra? Getting to where she is now took many trials and tribulations, according to the admissions counselor.
“I grew up in Brooklyn, and I did not grow up in a wealthy family. Somehow, I was able to get to Hofstra, which really is full circle and really quite a feat for me … I didn’t have a lot of personal support in my life. I was not popular in high school, middle school, elementary school – I was often ridiculed … I grew up with a lack of belonging, and that is probably why a sense of belonging is so important to me,” Nadler said.
Nadler confessed that her life and career at Hofstra still feels surreal.
“Sometimes I pinch myself and I go ‘is this real, is this really happening, are you really doing an interview with me right now?’” Nadler said. “‘Do people really know my name, do they really remember me?’ … Nobody remembered me! And that’s really where all of this comes from; it comes from that place in my heart where I craved all of this.”
All her personalized moments, her passion for the university and her drive to make Hofstra better all lead to a beautiful, energetic and wonderful cocktail of blue and gold. Without Nadler standing at the front of the pack, there is much less Hofstra pride to go around.
“Sometimes I think about, ‘Isn’t there more to me than just my love of Hofstra?’ And I have to say, ‘Maybe there is.’ My whole heart, my whole spirit and my whole mind [have] been shaped from what I’ve learned here, and the people that I’ve met … even the students who didn’t choose to come to Hofstra, I was part of their journey,” Nadler said. “I’m just so honored to be invited to talk here.”
I reached to press stop on my recording.
“And I can’t wait to see how you make me famous.”
If you’re reading this, Andrea, trust that you are already famous. And thank you for being my first of four years’ worth of memories.
